So, why am I going on about this again *now*?  Well, two reasons.  The first is because they have once again been pushing through with some bloggers on additional “Thank You Mom” posts, but the second is much more personal.  I have gone on (and on and on) about LatteGirl and her Ice Skating, here, on Twitter, IRL and anywhere else I can, and I know some of you at least are probably tired of hearing about it by now.  This week however, while LatteGirl is up in Boston competing at the ISI World Team Championships 2010, I am back at home, and it is this that is currently making me (despite my tag line), just a bit bitter.

As many already know, I take a very active interest in her skating.  I attend every competition I possibly can, I cheer her on as much as anybody can, heck I started taking ice skating lessons just to be able to have a better understanding of terms, and be able to spend some time with her in her element.  But just as important (I believe), I fund all of this.  So, no I am not in Boston right now, not because I don’t want to be there, but because we cannot afford for me to be there.  Besides the additional expense of me actually taking the trip, then we would have to board the dogs, and I would have to sacrifice income… Income that we need for her to be able to be able to participate in these events.

Tell me the truth, isn’t that worth a little appreciation for what Dad does?  No, I am not there, but that doesn’t make me any less of a supporter in her interests.  The title of this is a bit off, but I don’t know another way to put it.  I am not necessarily looking for a pat on the back, nor do I think most mothers do it for that reason.  They do it for the benefit of their kids as I do.  But, I guess it seems that marketers these days are falling all over themselves nowadays to ensure they are pitching to Mom, that Dad sort of gets forgotten in his role.  Don’t forget Dad, he cares too.

Exhibit 1 – After taking her to a Newark Bears Game (her 1st baseball game), that the Bears lost (by a lot).

Me:  I hope you still had fun even though the Bears lost.

Her:  I had a GREAT time.  I got to spend time with family and friends, and that is always fun.  The final score doesn’t matter.

Exhibit 2 – After I try and select a movie to watch for Daddy-Daughter Night

Me:  What do you think of this one?

Her:  This is PG-13… are you sure it is age appropriate for me?

Exhibit 3 – After her aunt asked her if she still was watched Hannah Montana

Her:  The show isn’t entertaining any more, and her music isn’t as good as it used to be, so I’ve moved on to other things.

Aunt:  So what do you like now?

Her:  Bad Romance  by Lady Gaga (this one just about killed me on multiple levels)

Exhibit 4 – After seeing a commercial for Zhu-Zhu Pets

Me:  Have you ever seen them before?

Her: (Unenthusiastically) Yeah, I’ve seen ‘em

Me:  Not interested, huh?

Her:  Nah, maybe when I was younger, but now I don’t think I would play with them enough to justify the expense.

So, like it or not she is growing up… far faster than I would like… but fortunately not as quickly as her maturity level would suggest.  Is it just her?  Is it just me being in denial?  Do your kids act far more mature than you would expect for their age?

Edgardo Alfonso playing for the Newark Bears

I am… in general, a sports fan.  Except possibly for hockey, I am not a sports “fanatic” (much to my wife’s appreciation, and probably to the chagrin of many major sports and their advertisers).  No place has my hot and cold fickleness been more apparent than it has been with baseball.  Baseball has broken my heart (not in the “my team lost” kind of way), disgusted me, annoyed me and turned me off to their product more times than I care to count over the years.

Now, in fairness, I guess some of it does have to do with “my” team.  A fan of the New York Mets (on again and off again), I have watched an organization assemble a team  that has had the character of a hot steaming pile of garbage (more than once).  Bobby Bonilla, Vince Coleman, Bret Saberhagen to name just a few from “The Worst Team Money Could Buy” club. Sure, there are players like that in every sport, those types quickly fade away and are out of the game, not given additional lucrative contracts.

But it goes beyond just “my” team. Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Mark Maguire and others that ran up home run totals as MLB looked the other way, allowing the long ball to try and bring fans back after the 94-95 baseball strike. Oh, and yeah… baseball work stoppages. Does any “union” have less of a reason for its members to go on strike than Major League Baseball Players? (And yes, I blame the owners as well, this is not just the players, but the teams themselves willing to shell out millions of dollars while pricing fans right out of the game in favor of corporate sponsorship and high priced suites, etc).

Armando Benitez

So, I have been in my “off again” part of my relationship with baseball, for what has been probably the longest stretch of time, somewhere around 7 years. As part of a writeup I was (well I am still am technically) looking to do on New Jersey sports, I went to see and photograph a Newark Bears game.  Never did I imagine that one evening in a ballpark would remind me about every single factor about what I used to love about the game on so many different levels.

The evening was a perfect storm of things that roped me back in.  The last time I was at a baseball game, which happen to be a Shea Stadium, some of the best players on the field that day included Edgardo Alfonso and Armando Benitez and much to my surprise, those two players were there… sporting Newark Bears uniforms, in fact the Bears have no less than 5 former major league players on their roster, adding for Angel and Cardinal Scott Spiezio, former journeyman pitcher Willie Banks and Daryl Ward who was most recently played with the Chicago Cubs.  The remainder of the team is made up of players that never quite got their shot, or perhaps haven’t gotten their shot yet for one reason or the other in the “big leagues.”

Now without trying to make people out to be more altruistic than they really are, I am sure that their is certainly some money factor involved.  Every one of these guys would, if the opportunity presented itself, to jump (or jump back) to the MLB level and the payday that could involve, but their is still something different about players at this level of baseball.  When all is said and done, these players are playing with pride, with determination, with heart that far exceeds whatever nominal salary they are making at this level of play.  They have to play that way if they want to get noticed.  It is palpable, you can “feel” the difference in effort, and while it is true that the level of play may not be quite as high as the majors, the hustle and effort factor, for me more than makes up for it.

I watched not only the game on the field, but the few fans that made it out for a game on a weeknight while school is still in.  It was a very sparse crowd watching the game, and so far the Bears are sitting in last place, but that did not affect any of the young kids (or even the adults) in attendance.  They cheered their team, they begged players for autographs, took photographs with the mascot, and chased down foul balls into the stands. You couldn’t tell by the enthusiasm and excitement in their eyes that this was a “lesser” game than one in an MLB ballpark.  Seeing the kids enjoying this game, brought back some really great memories of going to baseball games with my dad when I was a kid.  We went to games both at Yankee Stadium as well as Shea, but there was no difference between those games for me, than when we went to Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City to see the Oakland A’s Double A team play.  It was very cool to watch these kids with that excitement.

I even got a little bit of excitement of my own.  Like any kid that has ever attended a game, I always wished for that opportunity to catch a ball hit into the stands, but it never happened, and as I sat there, I watched one young boy that dutifully attempted to dash from his seat and try and run down any ball hit on his side of the stadium (did I mention the crowd was sparse this day?).  But other, older and faster kids always beat him to the ball.  They were roaming free around the stadium, while he sat next to his dad right behind the visiting team dugout (it was a very sparse crowd), meaning he really had no shot, but he got his hopes up each time, only to have them dashed, and walk dejected back to his seat.  I knew that look… and that feeling, all too well.  I remembered being that kid.

One happy kid

As we went to the home 6th inning, I was once again on the visitors side of the field so I could get some pictures of the lefty hitters due up at the plate.  The first player up was Scott Spiezio.  After getting several pictures with my camera, I quickly switched over to my phone so I could share a picture via TwitPic as well.  As I snapped that shot, he fouled off the pitch, and it was headed straight for me.  With my camera in my right hand, I stood, and reached out with my left.  At 44 years old, I caught my first foul ball at a game.  Almost directly below me, I saw the young boy (who was now being aided by his father in his quest to get a baseball hit into the stands) looking up.  He was, he felt thwarted again and began to make his way back to his seat.  I beckoned to his father, pausing to speak to him first and to get his approval (sadly in this day and age, such steps I feel must be taken), and gave the ball to the boy who was a mixture of elated… and stunned.  I posted about it on twitter, and received some nice comments from people about how nice I was to do such a thing.  But, for me, I think anybody with kids, in the same circumstances would do the same.  Besides, I think I got more out of it, than if I had actually taken the baseball home.  I got the memory of catching that ball.  I got the memory of how thrilled that kid was to get that ball, his smile as he grabbed and stared at that baseball will stay with me longer than a dusty baseball on a shelf.  To top off the evening, the last place Bears went on to win 4-2.

So, I got to see some players I used to love to watch in “the pros,”  a night a great baseball, the first baseball I caught in a game, some great memories, and my love of baseball back.  Quite the bargain for a $10 seat, don’ t you think?

At that time, the world still seemed much more secure than it does today.  I fully expected Vice President Al Gore to become the next President of the United States.

We were still just getting over the fact that all the fears of Y2K disasters, and tales of doom and gloom were not going to happen.

Only a month before the biggest news around was Elián González and the SWAT team that came in to take him back to his father, and his return to Cuba.

So much has changed in the world since then.  But it pales in comparison to how much you have changed and grown.  Perhaps that is why the time has seemingly slipped by me.  I have been so busy watching you grow and change into the smart, beautiful little woman that you are today that I didn’t notice the time going by.

Hence, I ask that you forgive me for still considering you my “baby.”  Because to me it seems like only yesterday that you were just that helpless little baby, and yet that is clearly not the case.

Many milestones have passed.  But they seemed to be coming faster and faster as time goes by.   I can still remember your “graduation” from Pre-School, and now you are finishing the fourth grade.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that you were learning to walk without holding on to something, but now I am watching you do Salcow’s, Lutz’s, Toe Loops and other jumps and moves on Figure Skates.    It seems at times like this, that I am no longer teaching you as much as you are teaching me.

And it is true.  I don’t feel so much that I need to teach you, or even tell you right from wrong most days.  You steer yourself quite well, and all I seem to need to do is provide some guidance and support so that you can be all that you wish to be.

Your demeanor, your charm, your smile are all so disarming to most that you get along with (virtually) everyone, and makes you a pleasure to be around.  I can’t believe that 10 years have gone by, but with all that you have accomplished, and with all you the potential you have, as much as I lament 10 years being gone, I love watching you soar to new heights on a regular basis, and I can hardly wait to see what the next 10 brings.  Happy Birthday to my Princess.

But I must admit, it has been a long time since I have really enjoyed the holiday.  People talk about Xmas losing its “meaning” (don’t get me started on that one), but I don’t know if any holiday has lost more of its true meaning than Memorial Day.

What is Memorial Day?  Memorial Day (originally Decoration Day) is a day set aside to Honor and commemorate those that lost their lives defending this country in a time of war.

Now I am not saying that people need to sit around and mourn or be solemn on this day.  I actually think and like the traditions of Barbecues and festivities that often take place.  Think of it as a giant Irish Wake to celebrate the lives of these brave men and women that have given their lives.

What Memorial Day ISN’T.

It isn’t JUST the “unofficial start of summer.”  While you are enjoying those burgers and cold drinks, don’t forget to remember those people that gave their lives so that you could enjoy those things.

Just as importantly (though some may not realize they are doing this), Memorial Day is most definitely NOT a day to use the military as your political pawn.  It is not a day to try and tell people how much more patriotic you are than somebody else.

It is not a day to make a statement about policies you would like to see enacted (or repealed).

Using these brave souls as a tool on this day is a disgrace to their memories… but yes, you do have a right to do it if you want, thanks at least in part to their sacrifices.

Remember those that have died in defending our country.

Celebrate in their honor.

Thank those living that continue to carry on those missions.

Leave the rhetoric until Tuesday… don’t worry, it isn’t going anywhere.

It was really a fairly innocuous tweet from Lucretia M Pruitt (@LucretiaPruitt on Twitter), that really got me started again… but I really guess I should start with a little back story first, so insert the wavy screen filter and dreamy music as I bring you back a couple of years ago.

Here we are, circa 2007 or so.  My daughter whining about wanting a cell phone.  After all, “all her friends had them,” and she wanted one too.  It was also a time when you couldn’t open a newspaper without hearing stories about kids texting in class, and schools banning cell phone, and other such stuff.  I was honestly confused at the time.  Why were parents buying kids cell phones at such young ages?  I wasn’t indignant about it (more on that in a minute), but just couldn’t see the rationality of it.  Then slowly people started giving some rally valid points.  Kids in more than one place at more than one activity, was one of the first that really resonated with me.  But surely I didn’t have that issue since I only had one to worry about.  Some pointed out the GPS feature in case of a child being abducted, but that to me was more about marketing attempting to scare folks into buying a phone, because more than likely that phone would get tossed by the abductor.

Fast forward to 2009, and my daughter would be finishing her ice skating camp approximately 1/2 before anybody could get there to pick her up.  Now there was plenty of things to do and to keep her occupied for that half hour.  But there was something missing.  Something that didn’t fit in with our “in case of emergency plan” of making sure she had change to call one of us should the need arise.  That problem… there was no pay phone.  Look around.  There aren’t many left, and even fewer that actually function.

We thought about it… not for very long, and I went out and picked her up a Pre-paid mobile phone.  I sat down with my princess and explained the rules to her.  I explained the charges, and what limits she had to abide by.  A year later, she has followed those rules quite well… and it has worked out that we feel quite comforted that she can get in contact with us at any time in case of emergency. (Quick Pimp… This is what lead me to review the new Kin Phones from Microsoft, which I have done on my new Review Blog)

So now, we are considering the next step, and that is giving her a better phone.  Back in 2007, I was dead set against this, but in reality, it was trying to keep her little, and not acknowledging that times are different.  Markedly so.  There isn’t a pay phone everywhere.  And (provided you set down the rules and they listen to them), it teaches responsibility as an added bonus.  So really, it really is a great thing all the way around.

Now, I am a rather opinionated fellow (hey… I heard that).  Of this I do not and cannot argue (oddly enough).  Certainly, Lucretia and I have disagreed on things before (aha… you thought I forgot that I had mentioned her earlier didn’t you?).  But disagree doesn’t mean anything but the fact that we have varying view points at times.  What got me started on this was her Tweet that went:

You can curse me all you like. We got the kidlet her own cell for emergencies. Tired of loaning her my ‘droid

Curse you?  For giving a kid a cell for emergencies?  WTF.  And as is not uncommon, somebody else stated (better than I ever could) what was on my mind (in this case it was BusyMom)

@LucretiaPruitt Ya know? A phone is just a tool, not sure when it became some sign of parenting superiority. Don’t even start me…

There it was, something that has been bugging the ever living hell out of me lately.  Snooty, who the hell they think they are people with some sort of superiority complex.  There are some places, that it is just as equally inappropriate, but more expected, like in political conversations… but in parenting?? If you are a parent presently… then guess what… you are still going through on the job training, and that job isn’t done yet.  You haven’t graduated.  You do not have a “proven method” regardless of how well Muffy and Chad are doing at the Academy of Really big Important Sounding Name School that I use to show how great my kids are and rattle off to get adoration and hear sounds of jealousy from others.  You not not done.  So please, stop and think for a minute before you open your mouth.  Consider for a second that somebody else’s situation may be different than yours.  Consider the oh so slim possibility, that you may not be correct.  Shocking, I know.  But it is possible.  So just climb down off that high horse.  This doesn’t just apply to cell phones, or any one particular issue, but your overbearing, unwanted “edict” of trying to rein down your superior knowledge.  If you are still parent… your job is not done yet… and that means, you still do not have all the answers.  You have opinions.  Nothing wrong with sharing them.  But before you are going to start lecturing somebody else about their parenting.  Stop, sit down, and shut up, until that feeling passes.  Then try talking to somebody as an equal, share your opinions (if they are wanted), and don’t forget to listen as well… because you just might learn something.

Recently, I’ve learned that it is not always what I say, but how I say it that makes a big difference.  Tell me, what have you learned that you didn’t know before.

I have to admit, it took a lot of soul searching on my part, as well as finally getting to know some people on the other side of the equation to really appreciate the plight of the mother that has given up a child for adoption.  I was going to say “every adopted child” but I really can’t speak for others, so I will say “I” with the understanding that I don’t think that I am really all that different from other adopted children… anyway, I went through a time of wondering “why.”  Why didn’t my mother want me?  What was wrong with me?  And similar questions.  Combine that with many in the general public that seem to think that the only children that are given up for adoption are from people that are shirking their responsibilities as parents, or are “lazy” or “don’t care” or other more hateful things, and it is not difficult to draw a picture in your mind is rather unpleasant.  (Perhaps it is a way of coping… it is easier to think bad things about somebody else, than to question if it is you that is the problem.)

Are situations like that sometimes true… of course. But in all actuality, that is not always the case.  Circumstances are what they are.  Things happen in life. And a woman gets pregnant with a child.  One that she knows damn well she is not in a position to raise properly, and rather than “dragging up” a child though a bad situation, she makes the rather unselfish decision to allow that child to be put up for adoption.  That certainly can’t be an easy decision to make.  And from the few women I know that have done this, it can be (and usually is) quite anguishing… not just at the time of the decision but for years to come (if not forever).  So rather than pick on or chastise or ridicule somebody in that situation, I think it is better to say “Thank You.”  Thank you for being wise enough to know that you would not be able to handle the situation.  Thank You for being unselfish enough to try and make something work that you know would not.

Now follow the strange path that is my brain to the other side of the equation.  The adopting mother.  There are few things in life that annoy me more (which is sort of counter-intuitive to what I just wrote), than to have somebody ask me (and I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked, I lost count long ago) if I am going to try and find my “real” mom.  To this my answer is always the same, “I know where my real mom is, she still lives in the same house that I grew up in.”  Though my mother skirts the issue when asked about it, I know there were people in the family that scoffed that mother was not able to “give my father children.”  There were riffs in the family that lasted many years.  My mother actually went on to forgive one uncle (though I never did).  I find this sort of sentiment unacceptable.  What is not “real” about an adoptive mother?  She is the woman that sacrificed for me, got up to feed me, dealt with illnesses, and driving me to Little League games, always made sure I had a healthy and nutritious meal.  She loved me when I was good.  She loved me when I was a complete and total screw up.  If you think a maternal bond can only come with an umbilical cord, you are sadly mistaken.  I have seen plenty of mothers that had less instincts and love towards children that they gave birth to, than my mother showed to me.

I no longer harbor any resentment or questions (other than health related ones, an issue any adopted child has to deal with) for the woman that gave birth to me.  I wish her well, and an appreciative Thank You.  I don’t know how my life would have turned out if she had not put me up for adoption, nor do I really care.  I know I wound up having a simply wonderful mother, one that loves me, and I love very much.  And in the end, that is all that really matters.  Happy Mothers Day.

It apparently starting rolling out last week, but it finally hit my profile today.  A popup notifying me that it now links things in my profile.  My hometown, my likes, my previous employer information, etc.  OK, on the surface, it is not a horrible or particularly evil feature, I could link and find other people that went to my same high school, or worked at some of the same previous employers.  Except, all of that information is public to the world once I do that.  Not than any of this information is “top secret” stuff, but still, I would rather have some sort of filters against what I make easy for Phishers and other scam artists to cull, or at least make them work for it, and not provide everything a would be thief needs for identity theft to be served up to them for free.

OK, fine, so I will need to pick and choose what I am going to allow Facebook to link to, this way only what I don’t mind being public is out there.  Right?  Nope!  That doesn’t work either, and this is why I say Facebook is broken.  If you are not willing to make the information public… then Facebook will no longer allow you to have it as part of your profile… period.  They won’t just leave it unlinked… no, after you go through this process, anything you don’t allow it to link IS REMOVED FROM YOUR PROFILE!

I don’t mind ads, and I realize targeted information makes for better advertising dollars, and since Facebook is FREE (despite what all those stupid groups “warning” about Facebook starting to charge May 1, May 15, July 10th and August 33rd, prices from $4.95 to eleventy billion dollars a month are saying) and I don’t mind Facebook making money, they have simply gone from bad to downright evil in their attempts to coax people into making information public.

Now please don’t tell me something stupid like I could go back to using Friendster or MySpace.  Let us be honest for a second, MySpace is for bands and people that want to decorate their pages like a 12 year old with a poster fetish, and does ANYBODY use Friendster anymore?  Didn’t think so.

Yes, I know and am well aware of the privacy settings, and will turn off what I don’t want to be public.  But that prevents me from sharing things that I wish to with my friends and family.  Worse, now I also feel like I need to start a help group for those that may not be as tech savvy or are unaware of what the implication are of these moves.  Incidentally, if you feel unsure about what is being made public by any of these new changes, feel free to e-mail or leave a comment and I will be happy to help.

For those old enough to remember Hill Street Blues, at the beginning of every episode the Seargeant would warn them, “Let’s be careful out there.”  That now definitely applies to Facebook.  Be careful, be aware, and beware of what you may be exposing to the world.  Facebook is now broken.  Pass it on.

Now, with these firmly implanted in my brain, it seems only right that I add to the list.. but which show?  Both BusyMom and Liz so properly pointed out about how creepy in retrospect some of these shows were that we so loved as kids… and I had two of them bounding around in my head (well, actually much more than 2, but two “finalists”) and ultimately I could not decide… So I will leave it to you to tell me, which of these is the creepier of shows…

Entrant One:  The Banana Splits

Entrant 2: The Banana Splits

So… creepy or what?  What show do you remember fondly, but looking back on it… think… “that was just a bit creepy?”

’ My job first is to entertain and do what I love, and if you don’t like it, then change the channel. I’m not forcing you to watch me. I’m not forcing you to talk about me. I would do that pole dance a thousand times again, because it was right for the song and that performance. But, dude, if you think dancing on top of an ice-cream cart with a pole is bad, then go check what 90% of the high schoolers are really up to. It’s funny. I don’t know if a lot of parents remember what they were like as kids. But I’m like, ‘Dude, as if you were an angel!’”

She sighs. “I’ve learned I can’t live for what people are going to say. People are so judgmental—especially parents.

That is right Miley, we are judgemental. We are the ones that decide what concerts our children go to see, and what music they buy, and we decide what they watch because we are concerned parents.  And, if you don’t like that… then fine, I am taking my child AND my wallet and going home.

Yes, it is true that you are just a kid (despite what you probably think right now, being a rich, snot nosed teen), and of course you are going to make mistakes.  But, treat the people that spent the Billions of Dollars on you… and make no mistake about this… because Disney packaged you and sold you perfectly, those people are not going to be there after you keep up the “I don’t care about you attitude.”

Now, some of my anger is probably not Miley’s fault really.  I remember sitting with my little girl, excited that a new episode of Hannah Montana was coming on.  The songs didn’t make my ears melt (like Jonas does now), the acting wasn’t awful (unlike That’s so Raven) and I actually liked and felt I understood Billy Ray’s caring and worrying about his little girl.  I was on some level able to connect with the show almost as much as my daughter.  And having those times together is something I will always cherish.

But time does move on.  My daughter outgrew the show… I guess.  Either that or she (like I) realized that the show now stunk and was no longer entertaining.  Of course, I had  placed most of the blame on the writer’s strike thinking it took the show out of its rhythm.  Little did I know, it was thanks to the fact that you had turned into a prima donna that “hated” being a popular actress in a hit television show, because you didn’t like the outfits you had to wear.  It is called acting.  Not all your roles (assuming you get any more), are not going to “allow you to be who you are.”  I had a point.. oh yeah… time moves on, and it was time for the show to say good-bye.  And I will fondly remember the 1st two seasons, and the time I spent with my daughter watching Hannah Montana.  For that I say Thank You, and Hannah… you will be missed.

But Miley, you are now the pompous ass people have been saying you are turning into.  Something I refused to believe originally, when people were comparing some of your indiscretions into the same sort of self-implosion that  marred Britney Spears.  I fought and defended you, certain that your parents would be able to help you navigate your way through and avoid the big headed pompous attitude that ruins so many people that get fame too fast and too early.  But apparently, you know better since your parents “aren’t stoked” about your choices, but you don’t care.

I hope, for your sake I am wrong, but if you are paying attention, you are already starting to fade.  Disney is going to get whatever last bit of juice they can squeeze out of you with this stint as a “mentor” on American Idol.  I know you “don’t care” what people think, but you just might want to take a peek at the Entertainment magazines and just find out how much of a joke the general public and entertainment experts think of this idea.  But Disney might get a quick boost of viewers for Idol like they did with Dancing with the Stars when they milked your fandom multiple times with you, your dad and Cody Linly.

In one of those conversation you have with you dad, you just might want to ask him how fleeting stardom is.  Without Disney, you would just be the best singer at the Tennesee State Fair, and if you don’t mind you business and fans a bit better, that is where you might be again.  Good Riddance Miley… not that you care.

After all, I am certainly not an “authority” on blogging, I am not a “social media expert” or any of the other titles that float around so freely these days.  I’m just a guy that blogs (and for the past year or so barely that).  But then again… my *brand* is “extra large, extra strong … without being bitter.”  I am an openly (and probably too loudly) opinionated blogger.  So, if I am going to own my brand… I need to stay loyal to it.

But it also puts me in a bit of a quandary.  I signed up to attend BlogHer this year, for a couple of reasons.  One… for the entertainment factor (I can’t wait to see what this years drama and controversy will be).  Two, to finally get a chance to meet and socialize with some people that are so spectacular in personality in their blogs, I just had to sieze the opportunity to finally get to put a live face to the words (I would love to do that with everybody that I read… maybe someday when I am rich and powerful, but in the mean time  this is at least an opportunity to meet several at one time).  And third, is to learn a bit more about what I am missing is the blogging world.  The “brand building” that I have heard so many people talk, blog, tweet, about in past events.  I want to learn a bit more… at least I think I do.

I say “think” because, I don’t know if it was the pithy title that set the mob over the edge, but the New York Times article “Honey Don’t Bother Mommy.  I’m too busy building my brand.” certainly got a section of the MommyBloggers circling their wagons.  The funny part is, for the most part, the article describes quite well, how MommyBloggers HAVE in fact built their brand… how as a collective they have become a force to be reckoned with (more on that shortly).

But instead, some clearly skimmed the article, others picked it apart selecting passages, others put words in that didn’t exist, and made a story about MommyBlogging to mean no woman can be taken seriously as a writer, and one or two I don’t think read it at all, rather took their cue from others and just wrote based on what they heard was a “wronging” and went from there.

Now, sure I am certain somebody would say, “but you are a guy, you have no idea about being a woman and the struggles it entails.”  And physically yes that is true, but I also know I pay a lot more attention to those details and am more aware of them than I suspect most would think, because I do worry what barriers of entry my daughter will face in the years ahead of her.  I also read a lot more mommyblogs that about anything else (well… except for tech blogs… but you get the idea).

My question becomes to these people is… are you trying to build a brand?  Have you attended panels on how to do this… or have you spoken at them?  Then why are you so offended by somebody pointing out that this is what you are doing?  Yes, I will admit the headline was corny… but really, building a brand is what you are doing… own it.

Now maybe I am starting to get a little annoyed because over the past 4 or 5 years, I have watched a certain amount of devolving going on, and it is disappointing.  Two items in the recent past still stick like a thorn in my pad… The first was the Bullshit “TSA kidnapped my baby” debacle.  If you dared question this Mommyblogger because her story did not sound right… you were ridiculed for it, how dare somebody question a Mommy Blogger.  How date the TSA do this!!  Except none of it was true.  No apologies to the beast just moved on looking for its next meal.

The other was the absolutely insane #nikonhatesbabies hashtag party that took place because “how dare Nikon not allow a mother to take an infant to a party… at night… at a bar?”  These are the same people that try to claim that Bloggy Boot Camp, and BlogHer are “no different” than any other technology conference.  Really?  On one side of the coin, I read demands of “if you are going to throw a BlogHer party as a vendor, you should know your crowd, and provide for children at the events.”  And then, out of the very same mouths comes “this is no different than SXSW or any other tech conference, and shouldn’t be viewed any differently just because it is a conference for women.”  Make up your minds ladies… Which one is it?

And… once again, one or two twitter messages went out from a couple of people about how sorry they were about the #nikonhatesbabies thing… but for the most part, the beast moved on to its next feeding ground.

Perhaps the arguement several years back at BlogHer was correct, and there needs to be a better definition of what is a “MommyBlogger.”  Just because you write, and you happen to be a mom, doesn’t necessarily make you a “MommyBlogger.”  At the same time, just because you are a mom and happen to have a blog, doesn’t make you a MommyBlogger either, nor does it give you an automatic right to ask for things.  I have now started unfollowing people that have put up tweets such as “I can’t afford to go to BlogHer, what airline wants to sponsor me and send me?”  and I would think anybody that wants “MommyBloggers” to be taken seriously to spend as much time beating down a person like that as they do when they feel slighted by some corporation, because it reflects poorly on all MommyBloggers.  Maybe if this can be broken up, then the pieces can each get the recognition they deserve, and each can have their own battle lines drawn, because right now, it looks like MommyBlogging has become the beast with an appetite for destruction that is just insatiable.

(Quick Reminder… Comment Approval is turned on because of spammers… but all non spam comments will be approved)

State Senator Sean Kean (R), who lives in what he calls “the gayest district in New Jersey” voted “No” on gay marriage.  I guess, voting in a way that represents the people of your district isn’t important in his and others eyes in the Senate.

I just want to make sure I have it on record, the 20 people that voted no, the 20 people that think that being bigoted is OK, that think “all men are created equal… except those faggots.”  This way, when election time rolls around again, and they say they want to represent the people of New Jersey, we can return the favor and say “NO” to them.

The Republicans that Voted NO:

Bateman, Branchburg
Beck, Red Bank
Bucco, Denville
Cardinale, Demarest
Connors, Surf City
Doherty, Washington Township, Warren County
Haines, Springfield
S. Kean, Wall
T. Kean, Westfield
Kyrillos, Middletown
Oroho, Franklin Borough
O’Toole, Cedar Grove
Pennacchio, Montville
Singer, Lakewood.

The Democrats that added to the embarrasement by voting no

Girgenti, Hawthorne
Madden, Washington Township, Gloucester County
Rice, Newark
Sacco, North Bergen
Turner, Trenton
Van Drew, Dennis

Why? Well, heterosexual marriage doesn’t need to be “legalized,” interracial marriages, which was like the last generation’s version of this issue doesn’t (and didn’t) need to be “legalized.” And along that same lines, I don’t see why “Gay” marriage needs to be legalized.

Now, for all you religious freaks that are quick to judge others (despite supposedly following the teachings of a book that says, “Judge Not, Lest you be judged.” Nobody says your faith MUST recognize or perform ceremonies that you do not believe in. My guess would be that any homosexual couple that wanted to get married would rather not be associated with a bunch of closed minded bigots like yourselves anyway.

So why is it that you can’t just let it go? Nobody is asking you to “like” or even “approve” of something you do not. I know several Jewish people that have been considered the “black sheep” of the family for marrying outside of their faith. I have a cousin that endures a lot of flack from people because she married an African-American man. Some people are tolerant, and others continue to have their beliefs of what is right and “wrong” but there is nothing that actually prevents them from doing this.

So why are people struggling so hard to make it “illegal” for two people who love each other to show their commitment, simply becuase they are the same gender? It is just so wrong… or as the homophobes would say… It is so gay.

OK, awkward segue, I admit, but while I am on this topic, I love the new PSA commercials from ThinkB4youspeak.com. I remember (but can’t find) a story recently where a student was suspended for saying somebody was “so gay” because she (and her parents) couldn’t understand what was so wrong with what she said. Unfortunately if you look at some of the “replies” and “comments” on YouTube to the campaign, and it seems that the only people (so far) who “get it” are the people that already know it is wrong. Others continue their homophobic tirades, or just show their ignorance is supporting “free speech.” Still, I am hopeful that maybe it will reach at least some people that picked up the phrase without actually understanding what they are saying.

Finally, I missed this initially, but apparently identifying yourself as a Lesbian gets you banned from Xbox Live, because others find it “offensive.” I realize Microsoft is a big corporation and that within their ranks there are some people that are probably not the brightest bulbs on the planet within their employ… but I am completely confounded by a corporation founded by what could be considered the original “nerd squad” (see not funny if you are a nerd) allowing a policy of intolerance. I don’t own an Xbox, thus I don’t participate in Xbox Live. But until this policy changes, Microsoft can be damn sure, they will not get a dollar from me until that changes.

It just continues to boggle my mind.  I keep hoping that someday soon, this whole silliness can be put to bed, so we can all have a a yabbadabba-doo time,  A dabba-doo time, We’ll have a gay old time.

Imagine my surprise, when Whit provided me with the opportunity to do it as part of a project on a much grander scale.  Anyway, due to some slip ups, I am only getting started, but I will be joining a band of most excellent bloggers (check out the About Us page for the list of stars I will be trying to live up to) , writing at UpTake.com.

Yesterday was actually the official launch, and you can check out the official launch of their Travel Network Blog.  For those that like read such things, there is even an official press release of the launch event (that I missed), for everybody else, just go and check out everything they have to offer, because with real reviews and blogs written by real people and not, say… imaginary gnomes, UpTake is … Your first Step to a Great Trip.

Me:  Oh, Yeah?

LatteGirl:  Yeah, she is from Korea and she is real nice.  But my teacher says she needs to be fattened up a little.

Me:  Why is that?

LatteGirl:  Because she is so tiny and skinny.  She is almost as skinny as mommy.

And I am now pretty sure anything LatteGirl asks for from now at least through the end of the week, her mom will be more than happy to indulge her in getting.

This concept in not new.  In days past, when companies like Sun Micrososystems were touting, “The network is the computer” and Netscape that was talking about a BrowserOS, the idea was half baked.  We didn’t have the tools or the abilities yet actually have a full rewarding experience without the underlying OS doing the heavy lifting.  If you wanted to do “web e-mail” sure many of the same players, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc were around, but you got 2MB of storage, and a slow interface that had to refresh with every click.  Tolerable, but certainly not what you would want to live your life in.  There were also many pieces of the puzzle still missing, so while you could do some things online, you could not do everything.

When the first netbooks started appearing last year, the message that these computer makers were trying to send is that, at least for casual everyday use, that now the web is ready.  Most people are still skeptical, as is shown by how the netbook market has already changed.  The first machines offered you about 2GB of storage, the theory being that you would only install what you needed to get to where you wanted to go and possibly some other small add-ons like an IM client.   Now most machines come with at least 100 GB of storage (because even if you want to live in the cloud, there are just some times unless you have the money to have an aircard from a wireless carrier installed, you will need SOME stuff to work when you are not connected).  

I am going to take my Asus eeePC, and for my personal life and work test out this theory and see if and how well I can live life in the cloud.  At least initially, my only offline access will be provided through Google Gears.  So I will use GMail for mail (which I had been mostly doing anyway) and importing the mail from my other accounts rather than turning to Microsoft Outlook.  I will start out with Google Docs (since it can use Gears as well) for all my documents, spreadsheets, etc.  Though I will test out some of the other online document creation tools as well.  Meebo will serve as my IM client.  Photoshop Express or Aviary will become my image editors, and well… I think you get the idea.  No local applications installed.  If I really start missing interacting with a desktop, I will give DesktopTwo a whirl again (but I wasn’t that thrilled with it the first time around).

So wish me luck, this is as close to “roughing it” as I care to get these days.  I will report back on how these and any other living in the cloud apps work. If you have suggestions of products or sites you think I should try out, then by all means let me know.

The Superbowl is sadly (I think) the one time that advertisers (normally) pull out all the stops to try and make an impression or kick off a new ad campaign, or to try and create some buzz for themselves.  Some, like the Budweiser Frogs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS5ZB1gBTEk)  become so popular, they become industries unto themselves, or like the Budweier “Wassaup” commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L38wthA4Ld0) forever change us, as there are still people that yell “Wassup” though I suspect some of them have no idea why.   This year, I thought was the most pathetic set of commercials since the onslaught of bad “DotCom” commercials, like this idiotic one from E*trade (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnQMq5wtZcg).

So what were some of the hits and misses in the house of the Triple Venti Latte?

The best of the mediocre bunch

I liked the Coke Zero ad.  Though, I thought it would have been better if Coke had dusted off the original commercial with Mean Joe Greene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc0izCGKxP8) earlier in the game.  I can’t help but wonder how many people didn’t get the reference and thus probably found that commercial far less entertaining.

The 3-D ads were popular with LatteGirl, who originally had no interest in seeming Monsters vs. Aliens.  I thought the Sobe commercial was the best of the first half, but that was not a tough hurdle this year.  That is not to say it was a good ad, it certainly didn’t inspire me to drink Sobe products, but it was interesting.  Overall, and probably not suprisingly, it was very difficult for these ads to live up to their hype.

I liked the Pedigree ad for adopting dogs.  But unless I read this a year from now, I doubt I will remember it.

The Alec Baldwin ad was good for Hulu, though again in better years it would have rated as forgettable, this year however, it had little competition.

The same is true for 2 the Bud commercials.  The Clydesdale “fetching” a tree, and the one going across the world (to the tune of “Ain’t no mountain high enough”) held my attention and even got a snicker.

Almost

There were a couple of ads that could have been winners.  The ads were amusing, but I can’t now remember the brands or products they were selling, so considering that, was it worth it?

Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head had me laughing, the wife glaring and LatteGirl trying to decipher why we had such different takes on the commercial.  But what were they selling?  I honestly can’t remember.

The talking flowers in the box was amusing and made a nice point about getting the message across properly, but I can’t remember which flower service it was hawking.

The bombs were numerous.

GoDaddy, like the BudBowl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR3iiiBsxYE),  they had an angle once… years ago, but have grown so boring and predictable, they are almost painful to watch.  Side note, does Danica Patrick expect anybody to take her seriously any more?  

Personally, I thought the absolute worst was the “PepSuba” ad from Pepsi.  To me, this might as well have just been an ad for Coke.  What was the message here, that Pepsi drinkers are too stupid to realize they should stop drinking their soda long enough to not die in an explosion?  There is a longer version supposedly available online, but I am not inclined to go find it.

A genius can’t buy a car without cars.com.  The message here?  I guess is stop spending so much time online and get some social skills, which of course is counter-productive to a dot.com.

I know some people liked it (mostly seemingly for the desire to punch a Koala), but the careerbuilder.com commerical reminds me why I love my Tivo so much.  This was just painful to watch after several iterations.  I think they could have had a bigger “hit” if they stuck to punching the Koala.  

I could go on, but it only gets worse from here.  So tell me… what did you think were the big hits (and misses) of this years Superbowl ads?

Obviously, she was also thrilled.  But besides being tired (on the last day they went snow tubing before a 5-1/2 hour ride home), there was a certain… I don’t know what to call it, really… listless undertone to her mood.  What could make a child who just did so well in her competition, had fun swimming (she has continued her streak of swimming in every hotel pool she has ever had the opportunity to swim in… be it frozen for ice, or warm for swimming, apparently you just can’t keep my child away from water).  So what could this reservation in her jubilation be?  She denied it at first, so I didn’t push the issue.

The following morning, I inquired again, and I found out the problem.  It seems there was another girl that is from her skate club that was signed up and in all the save events (and same “flight” as they call it), as LatteGirl… meaning they were competing head to head in each of the 4 events along with other girls from other skate clubs.  As I pointed out earlier, LatteGirl came home with 3 gold and a silver.  This other girl, whom LatteGirl only knows because they have the same coach, but LatteGirl still considers a “friend” came home with 3 silver and a bronze.  Do you see where this is headed?

Yeah, by the time the trip was over and they were heading home, her friend was no longer speaking to her, and in fact was giving her dirty looks whenever LatteGirl looked in her direction.  This troubled her.  She didn’t like that fact that her friend was mad at her, but couldn’t reconcile what she should have done differently.  She believes you should always do the best you can, and besides, this competion, the judges just decide on a winner… there is no scoreboard of points to look at to judge a “level”  So she really couldn’t throw one of the events if she wanted to (there was no way that was going to happen, she is every bit as competitive as I am, and letting up is just not her style), and besides just because she may have thrown an event doesn’t mean that the judges might not have given the medal to somebody else anyway.

It is a shame.  I have always tried to instill good sportsmanship in Lattegirl, but it seems to me that this girl’s parents didn’t bother to teach her good manners or how to be a good sport.) I tried to reassure her that eventually this little girl would probably move on and eventually forget all about coming in behind LatteGirl at every event this time, and who knows, at the next competion she may be the one that comes out on top.

["Not a chance," she says, "next time I will be even better." ]

Yup she is my child alright

But I feel bad that I cannot attend this one.  LatteGirl and TheWife have headed off on their own o Lake Placid.  This is not really all that much different than the event she went to in Yonkers.  Except it is bigger, with far more competitors from all over the country.  

So they are there, and I am here.  I will be missing today’s competition due to firewall issues, but tomorrow I will get to watch her skate via Webcast (Yes, this event has a webcast that they sell tickets to).  So, at least I will get to see it even if I can’t be there in person, but I still really wish I could have made the trip.  Of course somebody has to pay for all these excursions… so I will try to enjoy it as best I can via the Webcast.

There are definitely some benefits to leaving me behind.  I have been such the nervous one since she started competing.  She has managed to be as cool as can be.  So far, she has manged to avoid picking up my nervousness, but if I was around, it would probably only be a matter of time until she decided that if I was so nervous, that perhaps she SHOULD be, and I don’t want that to happen.

Of course, I can try and console my “poor me” factor (and after the expense of this trip, I really mean POOR me), with the fact that I have the house to myself for a day and half (they come home on Sunday).  Well, only me and the dogs, and fortunately they are not talking.  (Oh, please lord don’t turn this into a Bush’s baked beans commercial on me).  So perhaps I will drown my “sorrows” by stopping for a micro-brew or six, order in  some sort of greasy foodthing in and pretend like this was my plan all along and this is how I really wanted it to be.  Yeah, that sounds good.  And besides, I will see her tomorrow… even if it is on a webcast.

For some time now (I guess far too long a time now), I have used the same response when told about a plan that is too good to be true, or just sounds completely unbelieveable. That is to say something along the lines of, “Off the freeway, through the window, off the floor, nothin’ but net.”

It harkens back to a(n) (old) McDonald’s commercial with Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. I said that at a meeting with my staff, and all I got were some dumbfounded looks. I realized that these kids had no idea what the hell I was talking about… which was enough to make me feel old.

But as I explained the commercial, saying it starred Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, the response I got back just killed me. “Who’s Larry Byrd?” At that point, I left the meeting and placed an order for my plot at the mausoleum.

When I first started reading about the Netbook “craze” I was quite skeptical.  At first there was the little machines with a 7 in screen and 2 GB of “storage.”  Ok, the screen was a bit bigger, but I had as much processing power and storage on my Motorola Q9m phone.  And while I am not adverse to using Linux, I didn’t care for those little, customized, “fitted” versions.

Quickly they started to grow, both in size and in price.  Then I couldn’t figure out why anybody would buy one, when a full powered notebook was a similar price.  But as the prices, sizes and “craze” settled down a bit towards the end of the year (and prices dropped as economic turmoil hit everybody), some more… what I will call sensible models fit in the middle between the little 7″ 2GB models, and the 10″ might as well be  a laptop size.

To be honest, I battled back and forth between several models, the finalists being the Acer AspireOne and the Asus EeePC because on the spec sheet, they were virtually identical.  1 GB of RAM, 160 GB of storage, 8.9″ screen, and a 92% keyboard, and powered by the relatively new power sipping Intel Atom processor.  Both even boasted battery life (with the larger 6 cell battery that I opted to go with) of around 5 hours.  I opted to go with Windows XP, but both are also available with Ubuntu (or you can install it yourself).  Units of this type and size run inn the area of $349.  (Except for Dell which gives a stripped down model with less memory for that same price, a machine equal to this from Dell costs considerably more)

Ultimately, I opted for the 904HA from Asus because of the fact that it is fully upgradable.  If you want  to boost this up to 2GB of memory, you just open a door and change the memory.  The Acer however required you to disassemble the netbook.  While I am handly and built my own desktop PCs in the past, with the tiny parts of a netbook, this is not something I would want to do, so that was a deal breaker.  Also, the Acer also appeared to have some firmware issues.  While Acer was by all accounts trying to deal with them and issuing patches, I thought I might as well start with one that had less issues from the start.

So, what do I think after working with it for two weeks?  It is a neat little addition.  I would not recommend it for somebody as their everyday computer, the smaller keyboard, the lack of an optical drive and small screen is not something I would want to always use.  However, if you travel a lot, spend time at places like Starbucks or other free (or semi-free) Wi-fi location to  do you writing, it is much more pleasant to carry around than a full notebook.  The 5 hour battery life (assuming it is charged when you leave the house) is more than enough for most that you can get done what you need to do without having to hope to find a seat near an outlet.

The Intel Atom processor so far is more than powerful enough for tasks that you would be doing on a netbook (document editing, web surfing, etc).  No, you are not going to be doing any hardcore gaming on a system like this, but who would want to do that on an 8.9″ screen anyway?

Like anything that is built on compromise, there are some things that get some taking used to.  The keyboard is 92% of full size, meaning some keys are not where you would expect them to be.  Also the touchpad buttons require some real force to click.

Though I did mention this as a secondary computer for most people, this would also serve as a great “first” computer for a younger one that you may want to have a computer (or to keep them off of yours).

If you are an aspiring writer or somebody that likes to write “everywhere” and wants something light (less than 3 pounds) that you can keep with you at all times, then I fully throw my support now behind the Netbook in general, and the Asus Eee PC 904HA,  It may be the best tech purchase I have made in several years.

P.S. For the record, this post was written using my netbook.

Asus Eee PC 904 HA specs:

General

• Built-in Devices Stereo speakers , Wireless LAN antenna
• Width 10.5 in
• Depth 7.5 in
• Height 1.5 in
• Weight 3.1 lbs
• Color Fine ebony
• Notebook type Netbook,  Budget
• Screen type Wide-screen
• Wireless capabilities 802.11b,  802.11g

Processor

• Processor Intel Atom N270 / 1.6 GHz

Cache Memory

• Type L2 cache
• Cache size 512 KB

RAM

• Installed Size 1 GB
• Technology DDR2 SDRAM
• RAM form factor SO DIMM 200-pin

Storage

• Floppy Drive None
• Hard Drive 160 GB
• Storage Removable None
• Hard drive type Portable

Optical Storage

• Type None

Optical Storage (2nd)

• 2nd optical storage type None

Card Reader

• Card reader type Card reader
• Supported flash memory cards MultiMediaCard , SD Memory Card , SDHC Memory Card

Display

• Display Type 8.9 in TFT active matrix
• Max Resolution 1024 x 600 ( WSVGA )
• Widescreen Display Yes
• Features LED-backlit , Zero Bright Dot

Video

• Graphics Processor / Vendor Shared video memory (UMA)

Audio

• Audio output type Sound card
• Audio Input Stereo microphone

Notebook Camera

• Camera Type Integrated
• Notebook Camera / Sensor Resolution 1.3 Megapixel

Multimedia Functionality

• TV Tuner Type None

Input Device(s)

• Input device type Keyboard , Touchpad

Telecom

• Modem None

Networking

• Networking Network adapter
• Networking / Wireless LAN Supported Yes
• Data link protocol Ethernet , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g , Fast Ethernet
• Networking standards IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g

Expansion / Connectivity

• Expansion Slots Total (Free) Memory – SO DIMM 200-pin
• Interfaces 1 x Display / video – VGA – 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) , 3 x Hi-Speed USB – 4 pin USB Type A , 1 x Headphones – Output – Mini-phone 3.5 mm , 1 x Microphone – Input – Mini-phone 3.5 mm , 1 x Network – Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX – RJ-45

Power

• Power device form factor External

Battery

• Technology 4-cell Lithium polymer
• Installed Qty 1
• Battery capacity 5600 mAh
• Mfr estimated battery life 5.9 hour(s)

Operating System / Software

• OS Provided Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

Manufacturer Warranty

• Service & Support 1 year warranty
• Service & Support Details Limited warranty – 1 year , Limited warranty – Battery – 6 months

Tech

Twoogle – Twitter will be acquired in 2009 by somebody (like Google).  Its lack of pure business model will come under pressure from other’s trying to profit off of it (magpie), and investors will grow weary of waiting, pushing the company into making the sale.

Android for everybody – will become the belle of the mobile ball.  Microsoft will release Windows Mobile 7 but despite being a superior platform, players like HTC and Motorola will continue putting it in underpowered phones, so people will still be frustrated with it, people will finally look honestly at the flaws of the iPhone (and the continued lack of cut and paste support), Palm will have another delay in its next generation OS and thus Android will win by default.

Entertainment

Slot This in the loser column – Slot Music, the new “format” for digital music that few have heard of and even fewer have bought into will die, alone and unloved.  However nobody will notice or care.

Blu-Who – While lower prices (especially on closeout version 1.1 machine continue) will improve Blu-Rays uptake rate a bit, it will continue to be a no show to DVD sales, and will be severely threatened by downloadable and/or streaming video to the home.

Roku that’s who – naturally somebody will have to dominate the streaming set top box.  So far the leaders are Roku and Tivo.  Tivo has been on tech “death watches” for some time, and could be snatched up by somebody, but I think it is Roku, with their $99 box which already has deals in place with the likes of NetFlix and Amazon that will be snapped up by somebody.

Blockbusted - Could this be the beginning of the end for Blockbuster?  I certainly think so, and wouldn’t be surprised to see them filing for Bankruptcy by year end.  Unless of course they come up with some sort of deal like Netflix has with Roku.  Streaming removes that last “advantage” of Blockbusters brick and mortar locations, which could actually turn into what winds up being the nail in  Blockbuster’s coffin as those locations become lots of little wells of red ink.

Half-Blood Prince, Full Blood Hit – Harry Potter and Company will smash the box office record.

Out of Thin Air

(These are the ones I have no basis at all on which to prognosticate… some cynical, some humors, a few are serious and some are just wild guesses… as if the others weren’t just guesses)

Add another 3 – Guy Kawasaki will launch 3 new companies that people will only care about because it is Guy Kawasaki.  He will grow tired of them and move on long before his followers do.

Rebel without repercussions – Additional dirty (and illegal) tactics that were done by Vice-Prresident Cheny will be uncovered.  There will be a lot of talk, but nothing will actually be done to him for it, or any other of the war crimes he commited.

Windows  7 – will not make an appearance this year.  There will be hints, suggestions, maybe even a target date, but it will slip at least until the first quarter of 2010.

Apple Byte – Some hacker will finally write a nasty virus that will hurt Apple.  Apple fanboys the world over will swallow hard and prepare for the “told ya so’s” from Windows users.

Here we go again - Once again the term “MommyBlogger” will tear up BlogHer.  People will make “team” avatars for Twitter based on “Yes I am a MommyBlogger and proud of it” and the “I am more than a MommyBlogger” crowd.  It will die off 2 weeks later, but the avatars will remain for months afterwards.

F for effort – We will hear of at least three plots to kill President Barack Obama.  None of which will actually be carried out, and only one of which will actually be feasible to actually be carried out.  Rush Limbaugh will argue that this is proof that Americans are tired of Obama and are just trying to save the country from his socialist ways.

Back to the evil future - In a return to 80’s style stupidity and disregard for human life, either an abortion clinic or family planning center will be target of a bomb.

Markets will not make a full recovery – it is going to take a long time to get  out of this mess, and while change may inspire confidence, problems will still take a longer time to fix.

Sign of the times – At least one College or University will announce a program that will give all incoming freshman a Netbook.

iTunes will still have DRM music – Apple is slow to embrace change desired by their users.  Amazon will start to cut into iTunes sales as more people give up on the iTunes store.

So what do you have?  what does your crystal ball show for  2009?

You know that little Campaign to Blog Out Hunger that 100+ New Jersey Bloggers participated in a little more than a week ago?  Well, Liz decided to take it one step further, and well go ask some big, huge Super Market Chain to help.  And you know what?  They responded.  Stop & Shop will donate $1 for every comment on this post.

So…. why are you still here?  Go comments on that post alredy will ya.  Go tell Stop & Shop how cool they are.  Tell Liz while you’re at it too (ya’ see sometimes she forgets because…well… because she has That Full House to take care of and all), or just wish everybody Happy Holidays.

Are you still here?  Oh… you commented already.  Well then in that case thank YOU!

Now I have to admit, this has been a troublesome issue for me.  On the one hand, I hated those little trampy dolls.  On the other hand, as I have had discussions with other people, people that seem to have a hatred almost as deep for Barbie, it got me thinking.  At first I never understood how anybody could allow their daugher to own these little tramps.  But, when I was on the other side of the argument with people that made the same or similar arguments against Barbie,  I realized how it really came down to a level of threshholds. (Though you will never convince me that Barbie, which at least has “careers” and the such are as bad as these Bratz that instill no values what-so-ever, but again, purely a point of view).

Lately, it has gotten a bit tougher with LatteGirl as well.  She couldn’t uderstand our ban on the dolls, and while she accepted that she wasn’t allowed to have them, she was quick to point out that other friends of hers do have them, and that they “aren’t so bad,” and how disappointed she was that she could not have them.

I tried to counter with High School Musical figures, Kim Possible dolls (she can do anything), and even went the route of American Girl Dolls.  While she likes all of them, she still was a bit bent on this issue.  Now (well at least once this Xmas passes), the issue will be no more, and I must admit I am quite happy about it.

Unfortunately as our economy has taught us playing ostrich, that is burying our heads in the sand and hoping it doesn’t affect us is not a viable solution.  I am not going to go into statistics and numbers.  They are out there for anybody to find, and I am sure that at least several of the more than a hundred bloggers that have chosen to participate in this campaign will cite them.  Instead, I want you to think about it from a self-preservation mode.  As a way of “saving for a rainy day.”  As a way of hedging your bets against the worst.  If you can’t think of it any other way, think of it as an insurance policy against total disaster.

Fortunately, if you are reading this blog, you have rarely if ever had to look and make a decision like, do I heat my home, or feed my family?  More times than not, saying we have “nothing to eat” means, you are so sick of some dinner or food item, that you just don’t want to have to consider eating what you have on hand.  But what if the worst were to happen.  Sudden job loss, family illness, something that just wiped you out, and all of the sudden the cuppoards are actually bare.  Where can you turn?

Unfortunately, at this time situations like this are happening more than ever before.  The demands on the food banks are greater than any time in most people’s memories.  But at the same time, with people being more careful with their money, less are donating, leaving the shelves of places like the Community Food Bank of New Jersey desperate for items needed to provide relief to those in need.  What if you suddenly found yourself on the other side?  What if there were no places like this left to help?  As this title says, this is a bank we simply cannot let fail!  This is why I say, if nothing else, think of it as you would an insurnace policy, something that you “pay” into hoping that you will never need it.

So how can you buy into this insurance policy?

1. Make a monetary contribution: Visit http://www.njfoodbank.org/.
2. Donate food: Drop off a bag of food at your local food pantry.
3. Organize a food drive: Just call 908-355-FOOD, and they will provide you with guidance.
4. Help “Check Out Hunger:” Look for the “Check Out Hunger” coupons at your local supermarket and donate. 

Simply put, no donation is “too small.”  Every little bit can help… a lot.  You can check out SEFAN for your closest location to make a donation.   This is often the time of year when thanks to the spirit of giving and the holidays, people normally remember those less fortunate, and the shelves of food banks are typically well stocked.  But like Old Mother Hubbard, the foodbanks are finding the cuppoards bare.  

When deciding when or how much to help, just stop for a moment… and picture this.  Imagine your child, rather than wishing for Wii, or a doll, or some other fun toy, they are just wishing to not have to go to bed hungry.  How much would you want to fulfill that wish?  There are people out there, right now just hoping to make that wish come true.  And you can help.  Please do.

I’d like to thank Deborah from Jersey Bites for helping to organize this, all the other bloggers that have united to help raise awareness, and to you for your anticipated help.  Thank You.

Other participants, in this drive:

1) JerseyBites.com

2) RedBankGreen.com

3) Jersey Girl Cooks

4) Simply Sable

5) John and Lisa are eating in South Jersey

6) Padma’s Kitchen

7) Chefdruck

8) Life Lightly Salted

9) My Italian Grandmother

10) Cook Appeal

11) Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars

12) Mommy Vents

13) This Full House

14) Paper Bridges

15) Motherhood Avenue

16) The Kamienski Chronicles

17) Down the Shore with Jen

18) Fits and Giggles

19) House Hubbies Home Cooking

20) Nourish Ourselves

21) Partybluprints.com

22) Tommyeats.com

23) Off the broiler

24) Mrs. Mo’s New Jersey Baby

25) IamNotaChef.com

26) SimplyBeer.com

27) HistoryGeek.com

28) Savy Source Newark

29) Momlogic New Jersey

30) SurvivingNJ.com/blog

31) SurvivingNJ.blogspot.com

32) JerseyGirlGuide.com

33) Best of Roxy

34) Citizen Mom.net

35) Lynetteradio.com

36) Jersey Beat

37) Pop Vulture Phil

38) JerseySmarts.com

39) LongBeachIslandSummers.com

40) WildwoodSummers.com

41) Mike Halfacres Blog

42) Somerset08873

43) Family, Friends and Food

44) KateSpot.com

45) NewJerseyMomsBlog.com

46) JCRegister.com

47) New Jersey Real Estate Report

48) Riverviewobserver.com

49) More Monmouth Musings

50) Man of Infirmity

51) Another Delco Guy in South Jersey

52) SweetNicks.com

53) Average Noone

54) Cleary’s Notebook

55) Welcome to my Planet

56) The Center of New Jersey Life

57) Sharon’s Food Blog

58) Morristown, Chatham, Summit, and Madison NJ Real Estate

59) Midtown Direct Real Estate News

60) New Jersey Real Estate

61) BlowUpRadio.com

62) LazlosDen.com

63) The Ridgewood Blog

64) Book a Week with Jen

65) Banannie

66) Cartoongoddess.com

67) Matawan Advocate

68) Take Back the Kitchen

69) The Joy of Toast

70) Route 55

71) Montclair Kids.com

72) SaveJersey

73) Stompbox

74) Joe the Blogger

75) Environmental Republican

76) Stacey Snacks

77) Subversive Garden

78) New Jersey Pathfinder

79) Cooking With Friends Blog

80) Triple Venti

81) Read All About It

82) Rich Lee on Media

83) Likelihood of Success

84) Cape Cuisine

85) The Business At Hand

86) NewJerseyTaxRevolution

87) Figmentations

88) MiddletownMike

89) Caviar and Codfish

90) A Day in the Life

91) Mack’s Journey Through Life

92) Alice’s Restaurant

93) Tiger Hawk

94)Politics Patrol, The Bob Ingle Blog

95) The Food Chain

96) Henson’s Hell

97) Cranbury Conservative

98) Baristanet

99) New Jersey: Politics Unusual

100) Jersey Shore Blog

101) Plainfield Today

102) Beacon Bulletin

103) Journal Square Jersey City 07306

I find it “particularly idiotic” because he is clearly transparent in his attack.  He blames “a handful of secular progressives who loathe Christianity and any celebration associated with it.”  Apparently, it would never pierce his thin skin to realize that a Jewish person may not want to be wished a “Merry Christmas” any more than he would like to be wished a “Happy Kwanzaa.”  He doesn’t want to appear quite this crass, so he tries to bury the whole thing as people out to “destroy Christmas.”  While I do not doubt or deny there may be a few nuts out there that have this thought, most simply would like to be recognized for their beliefs even if they aren’t Christian.  Recognition that while a majority of people may in fact be Christian, we are not a theology, and that their rights and beliefs are not any better or worse.  

For all his claims to the otherwise, nobody is actually attempting to stop anybody from having a Merry Christmas, or for Christians to celebrate and recognize Christmas as the high holy holiday that it is for them.  They just don’t want to participate (and perhaps that is the problem for single minded morons like this).

He forgets, while claiming that it is “a birthday not a holiday” that the holiday has been around much longer.  I won’t go into the details about previous silliness or the historical moving of  Jesus’ birthday to coincide with the holiday, I have documented that previously, and most rational folks already know this.  But apparently he doesn’t see the irony in his own statements:

My fellow Christians should join me in pledging never again to shop in any commercial establishment where the clerks greet us with that “Happy Holiday” greeting as an insult to our religious beliefs, just as we must defend the exhibition of the menorah or other Jewish symbols at Hanukkah.

Just what Jewish symbols is he supposedly defending by demanding that it is “Merry Christmas” or nothing? And am I the only one that finds it humorous that he complains that about people being “forced” into saying “Happy Holidays” but now he wants to blackmail commercial establishments by threatening to not shop their unless he is greeted as he expects. And he goes on to say, “Have a Merry Christmas. And don’t be afraid to say that loud and clear to everyone.”  That’s right.  Don’t give a damn about who you may offend, because you are a Christian, and as such have a right to offend whomever you wish, at least according to Reagan.

So why is this?  Why is it that being inclusive to spread love to everyone so darn “offensive” to some Christians?  Does “Peace on Earth and goodwill toward man” only apply to a select few?  As the old saying goes, “Can’t we all just get along?”  Do you really need to have a crusade?

Whether it is Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Blessed Yule, Happy Kwanzaa, I wish you and yours the best for a happy and healthy Holiday Season.

But that is not really my point (I don’t think).  There are times I wish I could see what TheWife would blog about (assuming she was under the thought that I was not reading her blog).  I would love to see the “other side” once in a while. 

There was a piece about “fair” journalism recently (though I can’t remember for the life of me where), talking about how, you could almost spot the most unbiased political articles, simply by seeing who is criticizing it.  The most fair articles will claim “bias” on behalf of the other side.  And, I believe to some extent that is true in our day to day lives.  Which is why I found Ivy’s article both interesting and amusing.  

In comments, I shared a couple of little little story from my home life.  My father would always “try” to load the dishwasher, but it was never quite up to my mother’s satisfaction.  She would always have to “restack” the dishwasher.  In my own life, if I don’t vacuum the living room carpet in the style and fashion that my wife prescribes, she doesn’t consider it done.  So, I vacuum, she then re-vacuums.  So, I have admittedly said on several that I wasn’t going to bother any longer.  (Granted it is a veil threat, but that is not the point either).  So, here you read how I am not going to bother because she is being a pain about it, whereas if TheWife had a blog, I could read about how she wishes I could just learn how to use a vacuum properly.  

Another one in our house is, I am always asking TheWife where things are.  In her virtual world blog, I can see the complaints of how I am so forgetful, and I never know where anything is, or even better, how I never put anything where it belongs.  Here I would be complaining how she always moves things or puts things is illogical places so I can never find anything.  In the end they are the same scenarios, but two totally different points of view.

Of course, there is one other factor that I would be remiss if I didn’t add on to this, and that is about expectations.  (And again, these vary from home to home, so I am just going to use some oversimplified stereotypes, just for the sake of examples.)  Men have (or had) certain expectations I guess of women, such as the “Hey Hon, what’s for dinner?”  (Again, doesn’t apply here since I do at least 1/2 of the cooking).  Or heaven forbid a man ever picks up a rag and dusts something (except perhaps the television screen before a big game).  And the woman will complain about such things, but never actually ask him to do such tasks.  The other side holds true with expectations as well.  A woman that can juggle 36 tasks around the house, cook dinner, and bake for the PTA, somehow can’t figure out how to put some oil on a squeeky hinge.  The chances of them actually taking out the garbage is also near ‘nil.  These aren’t tasks that the other “can’t” do, but things that are… well… expected (for right or wrong) from the other person.

So what’s my point?  When you are frustrated with your spouse/partner in such situations, stop for a minute and look at it from the other side.  Believe it or not, they probabaly are doing just as much as you, but you believe you are getting the worse end of the deal, and that more is expected of you.  And if that isn’t enough, then talk about it.  Like Ivy who finally got her son to load the dishwasher.  The situation can be fixed with a little communication.  If you spouse wrote a blog that they thought you weren’t reading, what would they write/complain about that you do?

She is already feeling a bit conflicted with messages from both school and Sunday school, being told the Christian mythology that Jesus is the “reason for the season.” (Please, stop the e-mails, I am not condemning any religion, but the fact is that the celebration of Jesus’ birth celebration was assigned to conincide with the Yule season.  And besides, it isn’ t the point).  Like many people, the holiday season this year will be cut back a bit as we tighten our belts and deal with economic uncertainty.  But how do you explain and rationalize that with a child that believes in Santa Claus?

We have told her (as we have over the past couple of years) that the more expensive the gifts she asks for, the fewer in number she will actually receive.  However, in the past, she just accepted this at face value.  Now however, we have to balance reasoning and questioning.  Why?  Santa doesn’t “buy” gifts, he “makes” them, so why does cost matter?  

The expense has also put a crimp in one other tradition I had started with her a few years back, where I get her to pick out at the store, one gift that she would “really, really, really” like to have, purchase that gift, and then she puts it into the Toys for Tots collection bin.  It serves at a reminder to be kind to those that are less fortunate, and also (I hope) reminds that giving isn’t just about giving up what you don’t want anymore.  (After all it is much easier to give a toy that she doesn’t actually want or like, but I try to stress to her if she would like it, so would some other child that perhaps wouldn’t get such a nice gift).   This of course is not as easy since her taste has gotten a bit more expensive.  Sure, I would love to buy a Wii a donate it, but I just don’t have that kind of money to throw around.  Also, now she queries why Santa give less to poor children.

How do you do it?  How do you instill good values, teach about being good to others, teach understanding of economic issues, stay on budget, and still keep it so that it doesn’t completely destroy the magic?  I am open to suggestions.

Granted, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa got mixed reviews, but by and large any sequel usually gets this sort of mixed reception.  So, I took note of the number of people that said how it was actually better than the original (about the best praise you can give in my opinion) in the positive reviews and thought, OK it can’t be too terrible, since those that like it praised it far more than Ice Age: The Meltdown, which again wasn’t a real winner, but I thought was an OK sequel.

So when my daughter decided she wanted to see this, and to “save” Bolt for another week, I didn’t put up too much of a fight, and for the first 10 minutes of the movie, it seemed like it was an OK decision.  The flashback sequence, and the pseudo-recap of the first movie that gets you “up to date” was entertaining.  Unfortunately the film went downhill from there.  Like Ice Age: The Meltdown, Madagascar made use of the side characters much more in the sequel.  The penguins were again entertaining, but not enough to carry the movie, the Lemur king just became annoying and overdone, and none of this bodes well with a script that seem too much like something you have already seen before.  Part Nemo, part Lion King, part lots of other films, I kept seeeing bits from other film rather than a story that I could just immerse myself in and enjoy.

But, you will say, this is not a Pixar film and so it has less of an adult worthy script and is really geared more towards the little ones.  To those people I will tell you that about 3/4 of the way through the film, my daughter leaned over to me and asked “How much longer is this?”  And that about says it all.  There was only one other film my daughter has ever had this much disdain for, and that was Bee Movie which she begged her way into leaving half way through.  So was Madagascar better than Bee Movie, or has my daughter just matured a bit and learned a little more patience?  I’m not sure.  But, in the end it really doesn’t matter, because bad, or really awful, it is something that I wouldn’t tell anybody to waste your money on seeing in theaters.  There is nothing that will be lost in the translation to the small screen, so for those with kids that are entertained just by seeing animals run around on the screen, it might be a decent rental or purchase (if you find it on sale), but to spend the time and money (and effort to get to the theater) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is not worth it.  There are other films out, and others on the way, this is one that you can miss without feeling bad about it.

If anything, Wal-Mart may get sued for negligence for not having sufficient staffing and/or security, and it will most likely be settled out of court and swept under the rug.  While I do agree that Wal-Mart is guilty in not having proper staffing/security, the real culprits are the animals that were rushing into the store.  The one’s that kept streaming in and stepping over the man down, the ones that complained when the store was closed because of the death, and kept shopping because they felt they were owed it because they were dumb enough to wait on a line at some insane hour to save a few dollars.

I am certainly going to be called judgemental for this next part but, honestly right now I don’t care.  If you are the type of person that is shopping at Wal-Mart (and that includes me), you have no business in this economy buying big ticket items.  Unemployment numbers are on the rise, and at this point, basically nobody is guarateed to surive this downturn as far as jobs is concerned.  So, why exacly are you rushing out for a Flat Screen TV or a PS3 or another big ticket purchase?  I pick on these people first because, well because it is really an unecessary purchase.  If you are on line for smaller purchases at that hour, you are basically just beyond help.  Without those big ticket items, there was and is no reason to be out there at that crazy hour.  Stores have been running amazing sales already, and will by all accounts be offering the same or better as the season goes along thanks to what is expected to be a dismal holiday season for retailers, so what exactly are you rushing out for?

I saw the deals at Wal-Mart, and while some of them are certainly enticing, I didn’t see anything that was worth actually busting down the door and racing into the store in order to get.  These people were just animals, feeding on each other and built into a frenzy.  And if I had my way, each and every one of them would be held accountable.  Happy Freakin’ Holidays you nut jobs, hope you are proud of yourselves.

I have covered rGBH/rBST (lots of times) as well as Food Cloning, in the past so I won’t rehash that and other stories like it.   When you consider that of the 50,845 children affected by this in China over 1000 babies are still in the hospital from melamine poisoning (and 4 have died), it was a GOOD thing that the FDA decided to start testing infant formula here.  It is not a good thing howver, that after finding melamine in at least one baby formula product, tries to sweep it under the rug as “no big deal.”   As some consumer advocates have already pointed out:

The FDA’s earlier determination that 250 ppb of melamine was a trace amount was intended for foods other than infant formula, said Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group.

“This is out of step with what the FDA said earlier,” she told Reuters.

 

This is because formula is the sole source of nutrition at that age, so that “trace” amount is as a percentage a much higher part of an infants intake.  Also, what seems to be missing from the story is that, melamine is often added to falsely show higher protein counts in product, so that means there is actually not as much protein as the product(s) claim.  And, as sciencebase notes:

There is no reason to imagine that those unscrupulous enough to add a toxic compound to baby formula milk would worry about contaminants, such as cyanuric acid, that might be found in the raw material. Indeed, even if melamine toxicity were not an issue and truly was an inert substance added to spike the protein readings in quality control tests, then any one of the impurities associated with rough melamine manufacture may be a major cause for concern.

I understand the FDA not wanting to start a nationwide panic, but there is nothing that is insignificant about this issue.  We don’t really need to wait until babies die here from melamine poisoning before we do something about it, do we?  The FDA needs to be on the side of the consumer, not protecting businesses.

I was none too happy when my mortgage got sold to CIti a little more than a year ago, from a nice friendly small bank to the arrogant behemouth that is Citigroup.  And this only leaves me with the question of whether I want to take the time to find another bank and pay the closing costs just to get away from them.

The weekend started out, with the news of a college student that committed suicide “live” via webcam, while some audience members either egged him on, and others tried to talk him out of it.  While my thoughts go out to the family, I have to admit that the immediate speculation of potenteial lawsuits I find bothersome.  It is a tragedy to be sure, but speculation that you could blame the web host just smacks of opportunism.

Here in my home state of New Jersey, and actually not terribly far from me, only a couple of towns over, came an incident where a man drove across the country to confront and then shoot is estrange wife and two other victims in a Clifton, NJ church.  The woman recently moved from California to New Jersey to escape her estranged husband and even had a restraining order against him.  He drove… drove!  That is what, five days worth of premeditation?  He is still currently at large, but when they catch this clown, my only regret right now is that New Jersey has suspended the death penalty here in New Jersey, because if anybody deserves it, it would be an animal like this.

Then we have the sword weilding maniac that was shot and killed at a Scientology Church in California.  Apparently, he never saw Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Indiana Jones shows quite well what happens when a man with a sword threatens a man with a gun.

Like I said I can sympathize, or at least empathize.  I know the sight of just a little field mouse can send TheWife, normally a relatively tough and not easily scared woman, scurrying up onto a table, counter or chair.  So when dealing with a rat infestation problem, which of course brings the fear of all sorts of diseases, I can’t fault anyone for being willing to take extreme measure.

But a pellet gun?  Well, I can see the Red Ryder BB Gun jokes/comparions coming along when somebody gets their eye put out in an unfortunate accident.

It just seems lately that everybody is ready to fight and/or to be mad at somebody.  Whether it is people getting pissy (on both sides of the equation) about Magpie ads on Twitter, or the 48 scourge of Motrin Moms, it seems to me lately that everybody is ready to… brawl over… something… anything.

Could it be post election  blues, where after 21 months of arguing policy and personnel, and G. Gordon Liddy vs Bill Ayers, and Palin vs. Palin, and McCain vs Obama, that we just need something to fill the void?  Is it the economy, season blues?, holiday stress?

I don’t know, but I am seriously considering going into hiding until after Xmas… but that would most likely only make me one of the cranky people.

But… this is definitely a case of buyer beware.  There was recently a deal on woot and rumblings and leaks about about cheap Blu-Ray players being one of the big doorbuster deals that will be coming the day after Thanksgiving.  As with all things too good to be true, there is a catch.  Most (if not all) of these players are going to be BLu-Ray 1.1 players.  What does that mean?  It means if you see a disk with BDLive… you can’t use that feature.  The newest features are not available on 1.1, and unlike the 2.0 spec, the 1.1 is NOT upgradeable via firmware.  So, while you may be getting the “latest technology” you will be getting one that is hobbled by an older specification, and you won’t get all the features being offered on the new Blu-Ray discs.

So, think twice before you make that jump.

Congrats Cathy.

I did take some time to walk over to city hall, where I met two couples that were camped out all day in support of the No On 8 protests.  The five of us didn’t make for much of a protest, but it was better (I think) than nobody showing up at all, and I thought the whole banding together on a single day across the country was a great idea, and pulled off well nationwide (even if not in my hometown).  Being the only one (allowed to be) married out of the group they thanked me for “representing” though I felt quite disappointed that I was the only one there to hold that position, and especially since I only stayed an hour or so to show my support.  But, as much as I would have like to have stayed around longer, I had my own chores, and birthday dinner to cook.  (OK, I only had to cook part of it, and that was only because TheWife had to take LatteGirl to her practice).

I am sure many who follow me on Twitter probably tuned out as I made such a big deal over my daughter’s first figure skating competition… not to mention her winning it.  Granted, winning at this level is not a big deal.  Virtually all kids walk away with some sort of “award” for their participation.  But I was very proud of her, and if I am over the top silly about it, well… honestly I don’t care, because it meant a lot to her, and by extension to me as well.  My primary concern is that she is happy, and that she had fun.  At the same time, she has put so much work into this as I mentioned when I admitted when I said how nervous I was for her.

She put other thing aside, passed up or gave up other activities to dedicate herself to this.  Even over the past couple of days, it showed.  She came down with a bit of a cold, and fought through the cold and some rough rehersals, and again passed up on other things to “get myself better” before the event.  Since I do not frequently get to see her practice, I was actually amazed at how far along she had come in just the month or so since I got to see her practice last.

And while I was beaming with pride as I watched her skate, and again when she was announced as the winner, it wasn’t the proudest I was of her on this particular day.  During her “event” (there many “events” with up to 4 girls in each “event”), one of the four girls fell during her routine (side note:  I was really amazed at how few falls overall there were.  I expected a lot more spills than actually happened).  Apparently (according to her coach, parents are now allowed in staging area during the event) LatteGirl was cheering the girl to get up and go on, and that “she could do it” and not to worry about it, and even gave the girl a hug and told her she was fine when she came off the ice.  Keep in mind, this is not somebody she is friends with, or has even seen in her own rink, it is just another little girl who was “going to be sad,” and that is all she was worried about.  In many sports kids (and their parents) forget that this is supposed to be fun and not cut throat (just how cut throat people are in figure skating, is a post for another day), and worry about winning above everything else.

So, in the end, I had a great birthday dinner, made some new friends, and got to watch my daughter in her first competition (which as a bonus she also happened to win).  For me, it was a gold medal weekend all around.

Baby Blues

*** Also, don’t forget, BusyMom and I are giving away a Joby Gorillapod over at Parentography (that one ends November 15th), so stop on over there for a chance to win that as well.  ***

First step we took was downsizing our plans.  Switching from a Premium to a moderate hotel.  But as things progressed, it was starting to look more and more like Disney was just not going to be in the plans and that we would have to call the whole thing off.

Business is (seemingly) starting to stabilize, which is good, but we still weren’t sure we were going to be able to swing it.  Then Disney had to come along and came out with a buy 4 nights get 3 free deal, and well, that as they say is that.  Our trip has been saved.  We will definitely be at the House of Mouse in June.  Let the countdown commence.

Update:  Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Disney Blog for keeping me up to date with all things Disney?

Probabaly the best way to think about Amazon Windowshop is wandering around aimlessly through a bookstore/music store and just looking at whatever happens to catch your eye.  All without the requisite trip down to the mall.

The flash based site, is responsive (assuming you have a decent broadband provider) and has clips/trailers for the movies, sound samples from the CDs and even reads you the dust cover from books. It is a fun way to discover something new, when you don’t already know exactly what you are looking for, and just want something that grabs your interest.

While this came off sounding like an advertisement, I assure you it is not.  It is just cool.

Soaring

Nervous? Who me? Damn right I am.  A week away from her first competition, she is excited… but me, I am a total bundle of nerves.  But I can’t tell her.  Not so much about the competition itself.  There will be plenty of those in the future (I think), but still… this has become a big deal.

LatteGirl likes to do a lot of things.  Dancing, soccer, gymnastics, and so on.  But few hold more than entertainment value.  When she took up skating last year and decided she wanted to take lessons, I didn’t think much of it. Just another childhood activity, though one I have always enjoyed, and we always encourage her to try new things.  But this one was different.

She has really taken to the ice and skating.  Other than dancing, which she kept up, everything else has fallen to the wayside for this.  When her instructor said she was good enough to start trying competitions, LatteGirl was informed that some things would have to give, because the commitment was far greater.  She would have to go from 1 to 3 (sometimes 4) days a week of skating.  That meant no more gymnastics, no more soccer.  She agreed.  Her dedication level to figure skating far exceeds anything else she has done (except for school where she views her test as Perfect and Not perfect and nothing in between).  She is incredibly hard on herself and normally expects nothing but being the best she can be.  And that is why I am nervous.

We have tried to temper her expectations.  Tried to make her understand that no matter how good you are at something, there is always somebody else that is better.  But at the same time, we don’t want to discourage her in any way.  It is a fine line to walk.   I am excited to see her out there competing, and am sure she will be fine.  But, I am worried that she may get frustrated if she doesn’t do as well as she expects.

We are still a week away.  I am sure at some point she will get nervous as well.  While we have managed to get her on a number of different rinks, there are only so many in the area, plus she has to work with where her coaches are, so those rinks are far more familiar.  Next week, we will be traveling to Yonkers.  Her first time on the ice there will be her warm ups.  I suspect it will be then (if not sooner) that her nerves will catch up with mine, but unlike me, she is gets overwhelmed by her emotions quite easily.  I know all this, but still I feel so helpless at this point.  I can be there for her, and I will be.  But other than that, there is nothing I can do to protect her.  I’m proud that she is taking these steps, but at the same time… helpless… and quite nervous.  I guess I will just suck it up and hope for the best.  It is about all I can do.

Update:  I guess what I am trying to say is… all I want it for her to have fun and enjoy the experience.

My one saving grace so far is that it appears Starbucks is getting an early jump on the holidays, and I was able to get my much beloved Gingerbread Latte for the first time of the year.  It is amazing how much a good cup of coffee can improve your morning.  Thanks Starbucks, I needed that.

So who will disappear quicker?  Joe Wurzelbacher or Joe Lieberman

Honestly I don’t care as long as they both go away.

This will mark the end of politics on this blog (your welcome).

Those that may from time to time want to see the political talk, I will be starting another blog just for that purpose, The Daft Dem.  Because I don’t believe yesterday was the end… it was only the beginning.

But I will be happy to bring this blog back to a more cheerful and stop be “sooooo serious”  (see Liz, I’m trying)

Next Week will mark the Return of TechParent Tuesday.

Congratulations and Good Luck President-Elect Barack Obama and VP-Elect Joe Biden

1.  He is a Muslim.  No, he is not.  No matter how many times Sean Hannity swears it to be true.  No matter how many times somebody slowly stretches out HUUUUUUUU SSSSSAAAAAIIINnnnnn to try and draw some sort of mental image in your head to connect him with Saddam Hussein.  It is a flat out LIE.

2.  He is black.  Well, I can’t argue this, he is.  But that is not a reason to not vote for him.  C’mon man, it is 2008, are you still a racist?  Put the frickin’ KKK robes away, take a slug of moonshine and realize that, “that thar colored fellow” is a whole lot smarter (and probabaly better educated) than you.

3.  He is gonna raise my taxes.  I am going to go out on the limb on this one a bit, and say blankly… No he isn’t.  If you are making $250K or more a year, you are not sitting around reading blogs.  You might have a blog, but you probabaly have somebody write it for you (or at least type it).  Somebody explain to me please, how all these people that are actually going to get a tax cut under Obama’s plans are screaming about socialism, and fearing spreading the wealth around?  Let me tell you something sparky, your one of the people he is spreading it to… because like I said, if you were making $250K +, you would have better things to do with your time than to stand around an be a “Joe the Plumber” clone.  You remember Joe, he is the self important twit that exibits my point so clearly.  He isn’t in the same city as the ballpark of making $250K, but goes to rallies and likes to pretend he does, and gets indignant about spreading the wealth, when his dumb ass would be the one that benefits.

I could go on, but you were going to get the point, you would have done so by now.  Both sides have stretched the truth, as politicians running for office often do.  But one side has done nothing but smear and flat out lie.  And if you are going to not vote for Barack Obama, at least do it for something better than being caught up in the lies.  Prove you have a brain and think for yourself.  No matter which way you end up voting.

And regardless of how you vote, it should (but doesn’t) go without saying.  Be sure to vote.  Be sure to encourage others to do the same.  It is not a right, it is a responsibility of being a citizen.

I’ll see you on the other side of what will probably be 24 hours of hell and fail whales as we await the outcome.

As suggested by Backpacking Dad’s article, I went to the About Page of Protect Marriage.  I don’t know why.  I guess like a car wreck, sometimes you just need to see just how bad something appears for yourself.  What can I say, I am glad in some ways that I live in NJ, because I would really like to smack somebody in the head right about now.  I mean seriously… People like this still exist and are functioning members of society?

In a way, I just don’t understand how this could possibly pass.  Do women not remember (metophorically of course) not being considered worthy to vote?  Do black people not remember (and how could they not since it is a battle that behind hushed breathes affects to some degree even our current Presidential election) how they had to fight to not be considered 3/5 of a white person?  Is it all that long ago that people forgot that a mixed marriage wouldn’t even be allowed in some churches?

Now, I realize that even though many of these prejudices have been “technically” overcome, that there are still those that believe women shouldn’t vote, that won’t hire or just plain people because of the color of their skin, and look down at mixed marriages.  I will even give some of them credit, because while they may certainly be sexist or racist… some of them are so stuck in their beliefs that they are proud of it.  They readily admit it.

But not the homophobes behind “protecting marriage.”  They try and cover up their discrimination in the most pathetic of ways.  They want to “protect the children.”  Yup, they want to protect the children from knowing that two men or two women can love each other.  Because, “that kind” of love is “evil.”  They want to hide the fact that gay people exist.  Why?  So they can continue to try and keep it underground.  They want people ashamed to be gay, so that they have no way of knowing that they are not alone.  They want to be free to discriminate agaist gay people at will.  They resent being (in their own words), “forced to tolerate gay lifestyles.”  Yup, that is right.  They have to be forced to tolerate it… because they are intolerant people looking to write discrimination directly into their state Constitutions.

Ladies (and gentlemen), could you imagine repealing the 19th Ammendment?  Heck, Ann Coulter thinks that is a good idea.  Find a few people that don’t want to have to “tolerate” African-Americans, and they can get the Civil Rights Act tossed.  Heck, find  a few segregationists together and who knows, maybe they could just repeal the 13th Ammendment and bring slavery back.  Sounds pretty stupid doesn’t it?  Then why the heck doesn’t it sound stupid to be trying to enact a law that would freely allow discrimination agaist somebody being gay?

Now, understand something, this isn’t only about the homophobes, and wing-nuts that try and make this a religious battle.  No, there is a quiet subversion from the corporate world here as well.  The lack of status in a gay relationships allows discrimination in healthcare, in benefits to employees, and more.  A business doesn’t have to cover a gay employees family with benefits, because it is “not recognized.”  Death benefits don’t have to be paid out, or pensions don’t have to be continued to the surviving spouse, because they don’t recognize a gay spouse.

But regardless of the reason for their agenda, what those voting yes on 8 are doing one thing… discriminating.  Something we should be long past in this country but aren’t.  These are hateful people that don’t want to have to “forced to tolerate” others, and who knows, these same people may wish to discriminate against you someday, because you do, say or just are something that they don’t want to have to “tolerate” any longer.

There isn’t a well reasoned excuse to support this.  Any well thought reasonable person can not come up with any valid reason to do anything but Say NO on Proposition 8 in California, Say NO on Proposition 2 in Florida.  For those that aren’t DIRECTLY affected (such as me), just understand that these games if sucessful in California and Florida will start popping up in your area also as other hateful people decide to take up the mantel.  So this needs to be beaten, and in a resounding way so that others don’t decide to try their luck with similar pieces of discrimination in their states.  So, if you don’t have a vote, please… encourage those that you may know that do… to do the right thing.  Vote NO to discrimination.

In 1994, several month before TheWife and I are to be married, we got a frightening call.  My mother was rushed to the hospital, she was completely incoherent.

The initial situation turned out to be that she had gone into insulin shock.  Diabetic?  Test results said no.  As it turned out she was diagnosed with Islet Cell Carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.

At the time we didn’t know if she was going to make it to see our Wedding Day.  She did, and has been battling cancer ever since.  Some 14 years later, numerous operations, and 2-1/2 years of chemotherapy she is still with us.

I think the fact that we didn’t think she would see 70 years old, only made it more special when my sister and I were able to suprise Mom last week with an 80th birthday party.

The party had to be a surprise, because my mom is the type of person that would never allow us to throw a party in her honor.  As a matter of fact, much like my father, who I did not find out many things about until just before he passed away, there were some things I found out about mom as my sister and I snuck around getting ready for the party, like my mom used to hand make dolls and was presented an award in a doll making contest by Ed Sullivan.

Not that any of this is imporant, because above all, what she has been is a great person, and an even better mom, and I am just happy to have had this opportunity to celebrate this milestone with her.  I love you mom.

Yes, I realize that it doesn’t start until tomorrow, but nothing wrong with getting a head start is there?  Besides I was tagged with a Meme by Liz at This Full House.  Actually I’m not sure if I got “tagged” so much as I was given a “Lighten Up Francis” kick in the head.  And it is true I guess, with elections, a promotion at work with new responsibilities, and such I have been way too serious lately.  So Liz took it upon herself to lighten me up with a puking pumkin in her You’ve Been Ghosted Meme.

So, it has been a while since I have annoyed anybody with a Meme (granted Liz is one of those peope I am usually annoying), so I thought it was time to step up and do this one. 

The rules are easy:

(1)  It’s your turn to “ghost” three other bloggers.

(2)  Stop by their blogs and leave a comment on their latest post saying, “You’ve Just Been Ghosted — Come Over and Grab A Puking Pumpkin!”

(3)  Copy and paste the puking pumpkin somewhere on your blog (either in a post or on your sidebar, perhaps) so that everyone can see that you have been “ghosted” and will NOT “ghost” you again.  This will also let you know who you can “ghost.”

(4)  Feel free to link to this post (or a post of your own) for directions, grab the puking pumpkin and go “ghost” 3 bloggers on your sidebar (preferably, somewhere you haven’t commented in a while, or a blog you’ve NEVER commented on before and/or new to the blogosphere) and dont’ be afraid to share some linky love.
 

And it is that linkly love that makes me like to do these themes.  I read some really awesome blogs, and it is only right (I think) that I acknowledge just how cool you people are (though I also try and figure just who might also participate since I know some of you won’t).

Anyway, three blogers that I bestow my “ghosting” and linky love upon this time would be:

Mitch McDad – Because I still owe him a meme (which I promise I will get to soon), and because he can be honest and cool, and make it look easy.

BusyMom – Because she is my partner on the new Parentography Podcast, and because I swear if I tag her enough times, she will actually do one… someday.

CynicalDad - Because like me, he is starting in on NaMoPoMo, and this will give him one day’s easy post, so I think he just might.  Also he is the only other Panthers fan I know, so I have to give him a due shout out.

Well, now back to your regular Halloween activities… oh, and Happy Halloween (or Blessed Sahmain for those of that persuasion).

Ingredients.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp butter (melted)
• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 1/3 cup pure pumpkin

However, in all the negativity on the subject, something has gotten lost, and I don’t think (well I know, but I didn’t want to overstate it) many quite understand the gravity of the situation, and why it wasn’t just an “easy” decision for lawmakers to just tell these companies to, “go ahead and fail,” or  ”you made your your own bed.”  It just isn’t, as much as we would like to think it is, to untie these situations from the rest of the economy because of the scale of it all.

A car dealer not far from my home, Bigelow Motors, had been in business for 66 years.  It had weathered upturns and downturns many times over the years, but they were basically forced to close their doors this past week.  The reason?  They lost their line of credit.

In my own business, there are times that I need credit to cover the time between when I secure the supplies I need and the time my client pays me.  Without that line of credit, I am seriously hampered in what I can do and what orders I can complete.  

This is a common way of doing business for companies big and small (only the size of the line of credit changes).  From small corner delis that need to cover stock to mega corporation deals, there is very little that is done “in cash” because income and outlay do not always line up nice and neatly.

Obviously, the impact on business also affects employment as well.  Everybody at that car dealership I mentioned earlier is out looking for a job now.  Unemployment is up all over the place, and would only get worse as businesses need to either cut back or shut down because they are not able to conduct business as usual.

So, just understand, it was not a “no-brainer” to just vote this bill down. (Well, it was in that crazy first draft sent over from President Bush, but that was pretty much obvious to everybody except I guess President Bush and Treasury Secretary Pauson).  Is it ideal?  No.  Did it have to be as quickly as it was?  Unfortunately, Yes.

While people joke around now about how it hasn’t fixed everything already, this plan it going to take time to actually start having an effect, so even now we are still in crisis, but everyday that it waited is more time until implementation takes effect, and the more business that are apt to fail if this wasn’t passed in some form.

What I think a lot of people are shocked with, it that they got a good look at how Washington works.  The sort of wheeling and dealing (and pork additions) that happened here goes on constantly.  It is “how things work” and while this is no secret, it was clearly (and expensively) on display here.

I guess what I am trying to say here is, that I am not saying you shouldn’t be angry about what is going on.  I sure am.  But be angry at the right people, for the right reasons.  Look to former Texas Senator Phil Gramm and his slipping in of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) that enabled things like the Enron collapse, and the bundling of “derivatives” that helped make this mortgage crisis possible.  Be angry that this same Phill Gramm is on John McCain’s short list to be Treasurer of the United States.  Be angry at those that politicized this process and demanded pork for their vote.  But don’t take a “yes” vote in and of itself to be the whole reason.  This really wasn’t an easy situation for anyone to swallow, and there are valid reasons to have voted for the bailout.  The damage has long since been done, and now it needed to be fixed to keep the situation from getting worse.

In that deal however was some agreements that were for the most part overlooked, or at least not highly scrutinized, such as (emphasis added):

In agreeing to purchase Wachovia’s bread-and-butter banking business, including its infamous $120 billion in troubled and so-called option-ARM mortgages, Citigroup will also in essence give the FDIC $12 billion in preferred shares to guarantee that Citi will not face more than $42 billion in losses related to Wachovia’s troubled businesses.

So, the FDIC in what it seems to me is a conflict of interest (I am of course not a lawyer), would become shareholders in Citibank, and would pay off losses from the loan portfolio for anything over $42 billion.  This means the FDIC is potentially on the hook for a boatload of money.  So, when Wells Fargo came along and came up with a deal for the entire operation of Wachovia that put zero FDIC money at risk, the FDIC should have been thrilled (on would think), but this was not the case.

I don’t know if it is the allure of getting a $12 billion stock “payment” to insure the portfolio, but suprisingly instead of being happy that a deal was done that didn’t require the FDIC to bail out any money, instead the FDIC announces that it still is backing the Citi-Wachovia deal.  Citi of course is livid, and is taking their case to court.  This doesn’t surprise me, and it all but solidifies in my mind what a deal Citi believes it is getting here.

The FDIC should not be involved in this any longer, to this extent.  If Citi wants to take over Wachovia, it should now step up to the plate on its own, and make an offer that is better than the one Wells Fargo has put on the table, and without any guarantees from the government.  There is obviously no reason for the government to help Citi make this acquisition if there is another institution out there willing to do it without FDIC help.  Period.  Anything else really is corporate welfare on behalf of Citi.

Go, to any supermarket, clothing store, just about anywhere now and you see things draped out in pink.  Canon is offering a special awareness pink camera and printer.  Sales are not tied to a donation, but at least they have commited a donation of $150,000 to cancer research.  Yoplait, makes you collect yogurt tops to get them to make a donation, of ten cents per lid.  Campbell’s soup is changing its label to pink and will donate up to $250,000 (or about 3.5 cents per can sold).  While some of these seem laudable on the surface, it surely is a boom to the companies in increased sales as well.  As a matter of fact in a ABC News story almost two years ago, they pointed out that, the increase in sales and windfall profits dwarved the nominal contributions these companies make.

Some of the programs, as pointed out by Think Before You Pink, are outright hypocritical.  Companies like Yoplait and Hershey’s both refuse to ensure their milk is rBGH free, yet there are concerns that the bovine hormone can cause a myriad of health problems including breast cancer.  Estee Lauder is selling its Pink Ribbon cosmetics, but refuses to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, to ensure their products don’t contain chemicals that are known or suspected to be linked to breast cancer.

Then of course there is the plain outright exploitation.  Go to Target.com and search for Breast Cancer Awareness, and you will find over 60 products available meant to “raise awareness.”  With these products, you have no way of knowing how much (if anything) is being given to cancer awareness, or is just a profit center for these companies.

It seems to me that many of these companies are playing on the fear of breast cancer for their own profits.  If you want to make a difference and help fund research.  Don’t buy yogurt and eat it 3 times a day for a month, only to raise $9.30.  Just write a check to your favorite charity or organization.  You’ll save some money, and still be doing something to help the cause.

I know much of this I have covered in the past… stupid things like, Fat Prejudice in Healthcare (something I have encountered personally in recent events but that is for another post) not to mention things like health insurance companies that take so long to approve a proceedure that the person dies by the time they finally approve it.  People collapse and are left to die on Emergency Room floors.

But as some people who follow me on Twitter saw last night, my new personal fight on this issue is with MEDCO.  Medco is another giant corporation.  They are a “pharmacy benefit management” company.  In more basic user terms, they are the mail order presription filling company that covers (according to their own information) 1 in 5 Americans.

I have had problems with Medco before,  back when I was taking medication for my ADD.  The drugs are considered a controlled substance in New Jersey and you cannot distribute more than a 30 day supply.  But Medco still insisted that I purchase from them otherwise it would not be covered.    However they wouldn’t accept a prescription that had a refill number attached to it, so I had to send a new and unique script every 30 days.  If it hit their office a day early, they would decline it because 30 days had not passed yet, and this meant a lapse in medication for me lasting anywhere from 2 to 5 days (depending on how weekends landed in the cycle).  But this is old news now, and not my issue.

No, my issue is that after 3+ years that Medco has been covering my mom’s prescriptions, they have suddenly decided that because the drug is “off script.”  Since being diagnosed in 1994 with Islet Cell Carcinoma, my mother endured 8 surgeries before the surgeon finally said that she was no longer a candidate for surgery.  She was presribed a chemotherapy program that proved suprisingly successful.  For a cancer that was growing at an incredible rate previously, it seemed to come to a stop when she began.  It didn’t (and doesn’t) actually shrink the tumors as would be the normal hope, but it has suspended their continued growth… for like I said more than 2 years.  But now some clerk has decided that despite the results, and this being the course of action decided by her doctors, this person has decided that it is not the “right usage”

Now, I’m sorry, if my mom wanted some recreational drug to use, she certainly wouldn’t be taking Temodar and Xeloda.  Yes, it would be nice if there was something that was designed specifically for her type of cancer, but unfortunately since it is so rare, the chances of putting together a clinical study to get FDA approval is at best remote.

I really don’t like this.  Not at all.  Now, we will fight this, the paperwork has already gone in to appeal the decision, and letters have been filed by her doctors.  But just how long will this process take?  We were “offered” the opportunity to buy the medication directly… at $4800 for  a 12 day supply (which covers 1 month).  Gee how nice of them.  But the drug is covered.  So if it is OK to SELL the drug to us for her to use even though it is off label, then why aren’t they giving it to us covered?  If they want to complain about how much it costs, they can certainly take up the fight with the pharmaceutical companies, and I would be happy to join that fight as well, because I certainly find it hard to accept $400/dose to be a “fair margin.”

The fight with the pharmaceutical companies will have to wait though, because I can’t worry about that until I know Medco is filling the scripts they should be filling, instead of trying to act like a doctor, or a god, that can just decide from behind some desk who qualifies for what medicine, who lives, and who dies.  It is a deadly game these people are playing and we shouldn’t have to stand for it.

The part that was most galling (to me anyway) was a statement by Kirk Saville, a Hershey’s spokesman, who said (emphasis added by me):

There are high-quality oils available which are equal to or better than cocoa butter in taste, nutrition, texture and function, and are preferred by consumers.

Preferred by consumers?  Preferred? I don’t think so, Kirk.   Oh, yeah take out the Cocoa Butter which actually has some nutritional benefit, and lets replace it with hydrogenated corn oil instead.  Screw the fact that we take chocolate and actually make it unhealthy… it is healthy for profits.  What this really means is, I think we can get away with it, and nobody will notice.

In the Biography of Milton Hershey that can be found at hersheypa.com

He took great pride in the growth of the school, the town, and his business. For the rest of his life, he always placed the quality of his product and the well-being of his workers ahead of profits.

Well, obviously Milton is no longer in charge of the Heshey’s chocolate company.  Hershey has done an end run around the issue.  So, they can’t call their imitation chocolate “chocolate” but that didn’t stop them from making the change in a number of their products.  According the the post on CandyBlog, a number of Hershey’s products are no longer milk chocolate, but instead are now “chocolate flavored candy.”

Look at the list of ingredients from a package of the original “Milk Chocolate” Kissables.

Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin, PGPR & artificial flavors), sugar, red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6, blue 1 & carnauba wax.

Now look at the “Chocolate Candy” Kissables:

Sugar, vegetable oil (palm, shea, sunflower and/or safflower oil), chocolate, nonfat milk, whey, cocoa butter, milk fat, gum arabic, soy lecithin, artificial colors (red 40, yellow 5, blue 2, blue 1, yellow 6), corn syrup, resinous glaze, salt, carnauba wax, pgpr and vanillin.

See anything missing? Yup, that is right, no Milk Chocolate in it any longer. The same is true for Whatchamacallits, Milk Duds, Mr. Goodbar and Krackle.  Why hasn’t anybody noticed?  Because Hershey went to great lengths to make it so that it is difficult to notice.  (And in part, thanks to a slight change in labeling law on what has to be called “imitation” ).  Products that once bore the words “Milk Chocolate” now instead are listed as “chocolate candy,” “made with chocolate” or “chocolatey.”

Actually, it seems in once case apparently it did get noticed, where Almond Joy was returned to Milk Chocolate after comsumers complained.

Fortunately (so far) Hershey Bars, Kisses, and Reese’s Peanut butter cups remain unaffected and are still Milk Chocolate products. Tell Hershey what you think of their faux chocolate, because messing with our chocolate is just plain wrong.

 The situation has gotten so intense that we in the media have slipped our normal rules as well. Usually when a candidate tells something less than the truth, we mince words. We use euphemisms like mendacity andinaccuracy … or, as the Associated Press put it, “McCain’s claims skirt facts.” But increasing numbers of otherwise sober observers, even such august institutions as the New York Times editorial board, are calling John McCain a liar.  

I mean, how bad is it when Karl Rove is questioning your practices? No, Sarah Palin was no “accident.”  

The Times reports that using webmail for official business was Standard Operating Proceedure in Alaska:

While Ms. Palin took office promising a more open government, her administration has battled to keep information secret. Her inner circle discussed the benefit of using private e-mail addresses. An assistant told her it appeared that such e-mail messages sent to a private address on a “personal device” like a BlackBerry “would be confidential and not subject to subpoena.”Ms. Palin and aides use their private e-mail addresses for state business. A campaign spokesman said the governor copied e-mail messages to her state account “when there was significant state business.”On Feb. 7, Frank Bailey, a high-level aide, wrote to Ms. Palin’s state e-mail address to discuss appointments. Another aide fired back: “Frank, this is not the governor’s personal account.”Mr. Bailey responded: “Whoops~!”

She has shown herself to be willing to make up her facts as she goes along quite nicely.  Whether it is her claim that Alaska provides 20% of the nations energy (Alaska provides about 3.5%), or flat out lying when she says she told Congress “Thanks but no thanks” for funding the bridge to nowhere.  After all when she was running for Governor she said during an Interview:

Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now – while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.  

 Oh she eventually threw the project under the bus, but not until it had been all but killed in Congress, and had become the poster project for pork barrel spending.She has also shown the same cut-throat expectation of loyalty and will fire anybody that does not give her 100% support, that we have come to know during the Bush years. In other words, refuse to give Sarah the right answer when asked if you would ban books from the library that Sarah Palin doesn’t like and you are gone.  When I first saw Sarah Palin, I likened her to Geraldine Ferarro, a poor choice done out of desperation.  I was so wrong.  While Ferarro was a poor choice, and her inept run probably hurt the cause of women in politics more than anything, Sarah Palin is far more dangerous than that.   

I still learning, but right now it is a whole lot of fun.  I took over 500 photos during our vacation.  There was a couple that had recently gotten engaged there with us, and I decided to have a little fun, and with any luck give them something to remember this giddy happy times (as engaged people are wont to have at this stage in the relationship).

If you happened to look at a few of the pictures I have posted to Flickr so far from the vacation, you may have seen a little lake that is on the resort.  In the middle of that lake was (I thought) an excellent little island spot (it is connected by a bridge) for a few photos.  So we waited until after dinner until the sun was starting to set so we didn’t get any harsh shadows, and went out to the island for some pictures.

I made no claims that any of the pictures would be any good (though I do have to admit I do like at least a couple of them), and they weren’t getting any other pictures done anyway, so it is not like I tried to steal a job from a real professional, nor replaced a good photographer.  For me it was fun and an experience.  For them, it seemed as if they had fun, and they have a few pictures to remember these days with.  So I may not be a professional photographer yet, but I did get to play one while I was on vacation.

For me, it was a week of volleyball, softball, Karaoke, playing with my new camera.  For TheWife, it was lounging around reading and shoe shopping.  For LatteGirl it was making new friends, reconnecting with old friends, spending too much money in the arcade, and lots of swimming.

I thought last year LatteGirl had really spread her wings, but it was nothing compared with this year.  I guess I can thank the game room and her need for quarters, otherwise I am not sure I would have seen her all week (well other than meal time).

I covered how I thought that this was the perfect vacation, when I first found it, so I won’t repeat myself.  (If you didn’t see it then, you can find it here.) The only thing I didn’t cover then was the friends you make.  This was our third year going to Chestnut Grove, and what makes it special is the people.  Not only do I look forward to being there, I look forward to seeing the same faces year after year.  Its the friends you make, even more than the place itself that makes it such a great time.   Most vacations…such as when we went to Disney last year… well, I need a vacation when I return from them.  Not here.

I played a little too hard, drank a little too much, laughed a little too lound, and now I am actually ready to come back and face the world again as I count down to when we do it all again.

LatteGirl was not much in the mood for eating and after querying her to what was wrong, she bemoaned the fact of how much she missed Poppie.  My mom gave her a hug, and while stating that she missed him too, that if LatteGirl wanted to know what Poppie would do or say to just look at me, since I was just like him.

While I don’t completely agree with that assesment, and still don’t believe I can hold a candle to my father, I don’t think there is a better compliment I could ever receive.

With our Anniversary falling on a Tuesday this year we decided to celebrate over the weekend.  This included, Tickets to see A Chorus Line on Broadway, Dinner at Steve’s Waterside Restaurant with a very nice view of Manhattan’s Skyline.  It was followed up with a trip to replace our aging Zenith Behemouth TV and gigantic (and quite ugly) Entertainment Center with a Flat Screen, and an Entertainment Center that looked a bit more this century.

But I forgot the dang card.  Apparently, without the card, nothing else counts.  Who knew?

What has upset me more though is Flickr’s response, or more correctly their lack of response.   After all, this wasn’t a common, grab a picture and use it sort of thing (which, btw it amazes me how many big corporation have been caught doing this).  This was a company using Flickr’s own API, to download images and sell them.  I expected some sort of response, even if they didn’t plan to make changes to the API, at least to clarify that this company did things wrong and didn’t use the API correctly.  Instead… silence.

Now, I love Flickr.  I have a pro account, I have bought pro accoutns for other people as gifts.  But I am uncomfortable with them right now.  I am certainly not, until they do or say something, going to upload any high res. photos to their site, and I am debating on what I should do with the photos that are already there.  Do, I pull them down?  Take the time to make low res. versions of all of them and replace what is there?  What about you?  Have you changed how you have used Flickr?